SW KOTOR: Revenant
by Hobnob-rev
Summary: KOTOR: Revenant: My contribution to the "what happens next" ideas that have exploded since the brilliant SW:Knights of the old Republic (KOTOR) was created. This is my little contribution, enjoy!
1. revenant:Chapter1:Open Wounds

Note- With all the various endings I have taken my favourite. Revenant is set if Revan had been male, on the light side and in love with, and saved, Bastila. Part1 is set just after the starforge has been vanquished, but not all is well...

Revenant. 

Part one- open wounds.

Soft wind, full of the scents of salt and iodine, blew up the silvery sand of the beach. Even on this nameless planet, now named Rakatan by the Republic, beauty is present everywhere for those who seek it. The wind's gentle breeze blows sand grains off the dunes making up the coastline. Behind the dunes a massive temple stands decaying and ancient, but it now bustles with activity, music and people. The sounds of a party in full, noisy swing drift out across the sea, it's one hell of a celebration. But not all those invited are there.

A figure stands in the middle of the beach staring into the distance, as a handful of sand trickles from a clenched hand. The wind from the sea picks at its robes but that too is ignored. Behind the figure, a gentle clicking and quiet tattle of grains falling onto a hard surface is heard, but the gaze never wavers from the horizon. Silence for a few minutes, and then.

The Beach

"Question: Master, why have you left the victory celebrations?"

"Because."

"Puzzlement: I do not understand. You have destroyed the Starforge, killed Malak and brought back Bastila from the darkside... I do not understand why you have isolated yourself this way master. The other meatbags are annoying but civil. They all see you as the saviour of the Republic. Master, why are you not pleased?"

"Who am I HK?" The figure drops its hand to its side as the last of the sand trickles from it. "What am I?"

"Question: I do not understand master. What is it you are asking of me?"

Turning with a deep sigh, Revan observed the deep red Assassin droid standing a few meters from his side. Everything about the robot, from its demeanour to the very force flowing from it, reeked of the darkside... Something _he_ had created with his own hands.

"A simple question that could very well mean everything," he turned to look up the beach at the distant crowd of people. "Or to some nothing."

"Statement: I do not understand master. You are the dark lord Revan. You were redeemed by the Jedi and are now the Jedi Knight Revan." HK47 watched as Revan clenched his fists. "Question: Is it your name that bothers you Master?"

Revan barked out a laugh filled with bitter amusement and HK47 stepped back in surprise. Still laughing, Revan turned back to the beach and the far horizon.

"Not as such no. I'm more concerned with everything else that makes me who I am. I can live with being called Revan," Glancing behind him for a second Revan's face clouded over. "It's if others can stand seeing me free and, happy, if that's the right word."

HK47s audio sensors picked up the bitterness in his masters voice. With a few seconds of processing, his advanced AI routines engaged. A suggestion that further conversation may not be the best option was created. Turning away from the lonely figure on the beach, HK47 strode quietly back to the party. Some meatbags, especially on occasion his master and creator, needed to be alone. But he stood guard on the other side of the dune, hidden from Revan.

You could never know when a Sith assassin may spring up from under the beach, a Lightsabre clutched in his teeth. Secretly, HK hoped it would happen, he'd done far too little killing and it was getting on his nerves.

The Party

Mission looked up from the large drink clasped in her hand and wrinkled her forehead as her eyes passed across the party guests. For an open air do, the republic sure knew how to throw one hell of a party. She looked over to where Canderous and Zaalbar were playing a bastardised version of Tarisian ale arm wrestling. She grinned. Both were up to eight pints each and, despite some slight slurred speech, both seemed to be going the distance.

Canderous was grunting and his, still impressive, muscles were bulging along the whole of his arm. Zaalbar sat opposite, his vast hand-paw wrapped around Canderous's hand, and mission could see the muscles also under there bunched tightly. She sniggered and watched as each groaned and, in Zaalbar's case, growled trying to find purchase. One a Wookie, the other Mandalorian, both however were men and so... so... predictable.

Sipping her drink, she cast her eyes across the platform again. Carth sat at another table, a bottle of liquor opened and a quarter consumed in the middle, engaged in conversation with his son. Mission had decided not to get involved with that little problem. Carth had entered into the discussion with that look, one she knew very well indeed. It was almost tragic, his lost son found and yet to Carth's horror raised as a Sith. No, she didn't want to even contemplate what words were being passed across that surface, no matter how civil it appeared to be from her vantage. She watched as Carth motioned with his hand over some point only to have it gently yet firmly pressed to the table by his son, who then muttered something in return. Carth looked unhappy and shook his head, Dustil frowned and the talk began again. Yes, definitely something she didn't want to get involved with.

Sipping her drink again she watched Jolee laughing and chatting with Master Vrook at the buffet table. To his great surprise, Jolee had been asked back to the Academy on Dantooine, once rebuilt, to become a Jedi master. Vrook, obviously wanting to understand more about Jolee's opinions of the council and objections to the Jedi code, had come over as soon as the party had begun and engaged the old man in conversation. Indeed, as she watched the two old men quietly spar over the various parts of the code, dining forks replacing sabres and grins playing across both their lips, she wondered if either had ever had as much fun.

Getting up from the chair she'd slumped into with her, now half full, drink; Mission wandered across to lean against the parapet. The booze was going to her head and she didn't want anyone telling her to go to bed like some kid.

Fresh air slithered across the stone and Missions eyes drifted softly along the wall until they fixed on a figure crouched softly in a shadowy corner. Her eyes focused slowly on the corner and she started as two feral yellow eyes shone from the shadows with amusement.

The shape smoothly stood up into the form of a muscular and tall young woman and stepped slightly into the light. As it did so Mission gently walked along the wall, one hand gripping the stone for support, and winded her slightly wobbly way towards the Cathar.

Juhani raised her eyebrows at Missions approach and shifted her position slightly so that she could offer the young Twi'lek a supporting arm.

"I see the celebrations are getting too much for you." She purred gently, a smile playing across her face revealing a hint of the feral incisors underneath.

Mission snorted indignantly and waving her drink around attempted to stand upright.

"Don't be daft Ju, I'm fine." She managed, stumbling slightly until Juhani's steadying hand snuck under her own and held her upright. "I came over to talk to you y'know. I was quite happy sitting over there." Again, the drink sloshed slightly over the rim. "But I came over cause you seemed to be away from everything else. You okay?"

Juhani smiled at Mission's bleary expression of concern. Steadying the Twi'lek, she reached out with the force and yanked a soft chair over from a table. Gently, she pushed Mission into the chair and perched gently on the side.

"We Cathar do not, associate well with large groups such as this. It makes me uncomfortable to be prodded, poked and slapped on the back... too much like my time in the slaver pits I'm afraid. I prefer quiet contemplation over our victory, and our possible future losses."

Mission frowned as Juhani's unhappy tone slipped past the blurring effect of the alcohol.

"What losses? Revan's still here and managed to beat the hell out of their so called Lord of the Sith and he managed to bring Bastila back y'know. So what losses are you talking about?"

The Cathar sighed and kneeled gently in front of Mission. Picking up the drink set in Missions lap, Juhani placed it on the floor.  
"My dear, have you looked seriously around at the party?" Mission frowned and shook her head. "Then I suggest you look once more. It does not take someone with my skills to see we have lost a great deal in this battle, most of it unseen."

Nodding, Mission looked once more around the courtyard. A large number of guests were dancing to music from a band of republic soldiers while others drank and engaged in quiet discussion at the bar. She could see a group of the alien keepers standing chatting to a republic diplomat with the help of another Jedi. Puzzled, she turned back to take in the whole crowd and suddenly felt a cold chill pass over her. Turing back to face Juhani she felt the joy that had bubbled inside her slowly shrink.

"Where're Bastila and Revan?" She managed, feeling slightly sick. "This is all for them so where are they?"

Juhani stood once more and gracefully slid herself back onto the arm of the chair.

"I know where Revan is and despite that I am concerned over his state of mind." She paused wondering how much to burden Mission's youth with. The fact that she had seen as much as Juhani had on this quest made her unburden herself. "Revan is... withdrawn. Did you see him at the award ceremony, fawning and nodding when they gave us the medals? I could feel his happiness at the time, but now I'm not so sure it wasn't an act, for the council as well as us."

Mission watched the Cathar's face slip into a troubled frown. She looked around at the party and shrugged.

"I don't understand if he is. He should be happy, if not overjoyed. He managed to defeat the Lord of the Sith, managed to turn Bastila from the darkside and annihilated the Starforge." She grinned and stifled a snigger. "Besides, from the way those two snuck off when they thought I wasn't looking means the Hawkll need a nursery."

Juhani sighed and shook her head.

"Revan is, troubled, Mission. I cannot help him but I feel it all the same. He left as soon as the awards were finished and wandered off. I am concerned, he has doubts about a great many things." She paused and looked around for a second before continuing in a hush. "Remember that Revan had to kill Malak, a friend and trusted apprentice while he was the dark lord. He told Carth and Bastila that he could not turn him back."

Mission goggled at her.

"How'd you know Revan tried to turn him away from the darkside?" She paused for a second and another thought entered her mind. "For that matter why'd he bother? Surely he knew Malak would never have turned away. I mean he _blew_ up _my_ home planet for Taris's sake!"

Juhani felt Mission's anger burst out of her and a small part of her agreed with all its heart. "_I am a Jedi_." she thought inwardly, slowly. "_There is no emotion, there is only peace_."

"I understand your anger, Mission. However you must consider how Revan felt." Mission began to splutter in protest but Juhani silenced her with a gentle look. "Revan was much more in tune with the darkside than Malak ever was. It was Revan's fault that Malak turned to the darkside, his fault that the Starforge was found and restarted, all the deaths of Jedi and republic soldiers who have fallen are on his shoulders." She paused and sighed, shifting on the chair arm. "More importantly he feels it his burden that Bastila was captured, tortured and turned to the darkside."

"But she was brought back! He brought her back, he loved her and she felt it." Mission felt torn between anger and sadness. "Okay so he created Malak for sure, but Bastila was NOT his fault. He loves her, anyone could see that."

Juhani nodded.

"I agree that he loves her still. Loves her with all his heart. But however hard he tries he cannot feel anything but responsible for her downfall." Juhani sighed. "Even if he did save her, redeemed her, his guilt remains, however unfounded."

Mission sat quietly in her chair, all thought of partying gone from her mind.

"Bastila could..."

"Bastila is also part of the problem. She has become insular and repressed. Did you see her at the award ceremony." Mission nodded. "Then you remember that she was quiet then and also stood away from Revan as far as possible."

"But why? She loves him too. She told us his love saved her from the dark in her heart. I remember that."

"She returned to the Hawk after the ceremony and has not returned since. But that does not concern me as much as what I sensed from her as she boarded the Hawk." Juhani got up form the chair and paced backwards and forwards. " I felt her guilt Mission, it almost overwhelmed her at the ceremony and it's been getting darker since. Even now," She waved her hand at the Hawk in the distance. "I can feel her despair flow from that ship even now. It hangs over the hawk like a dark shroud."

Mission swallowed.

"Y, you don't mean she's…"

Juhani shook her head.

"No, no. This is a different kind of darkness, the kind that comes from despair," Juhani stopped pacing and looked at Mission. "All I feel is her guilt. Overwhelming guilt that she fell that she tried to kill Revan even as he tried to save her. As if that was not enough, Bastila also feels she failed at the duty the Council placed her with. However the most important thing to her, is that she feels she betrayed Revan's love."

Mission felt tears sting the corners of her eyes.

"S'not fair. Can't they have just one break in this life? Okay, so Rev was the most evil guy, like… ever. But he's changed! An'… and so Bastila fell, so what! She's his reason for goin on, like big Z was for me." Mission looked up at the Cathar angrily. "Can't the universe give em just one, one damn break?"

Juhani watched Missions struggle to suppress her anger, unused to the drink fuelling it. Juhani laid a supporting hand onto her arm.

"I have high hope Mission, hope that they will eventually be together once more. We just need to give them time."

Mission nodded and wiped away her tears.

"I know, it just seems so unfair for both of them. Revan especially. I thought Bastila became kinda his entire reason for fighting the darkside."

Juhani sighed and, standing up, smiled at Missions young face.

Don't be too sad Mission. We did win a great victory for the light, and we all came back alive. I am… certain things will turn out for the best. Now, you seem to enjoy these celebrations more than I do. I suggest you take this chance while everyone is heralding you as a hero and seems to have forgotten your age to get even more drunk." Mission blushed as Juhani glanced at the glass of alcohol in her hand. "Find someone you like and dance as much as you want."

Mission smiled slightly and got up slowly, the booze did seem to be having a slight affect after all. But she could handle it.

"Is this advice from a noble Jedi?" She looked round and saw that Zaalbar and Canderous were now deep into a drinking contest. "I suppose I can. It's the first time anyone's really treated me like an adult y'know… I _could_ do with another drink I suppose. Y want to join me Ju?"

Juhani shook her head.

"No thank you, Mission. I think I may just go and find a quiet spot to meditate in." She smiled at Missions puzzled expression. "It's one of our, how did you say once? Our odd Jedi ways."

Mission paused for a second; Juhani seemed so lonely, yet wanted to be alone. '_Must be a Cathar thing_.' She shrugged and then grinned at her.

"Well, your choice I suppose. See you back at the Hawk later yeah?"

Juhani nodded and gracefully walked across the sunny courtyard while Mission watched her go. Only after the Cathar had vanished into the foliage did she turn back to the party.


	2. Revenant:Chapter1:part two

Chapter one, part 2.

It was dark in the Ebon Hawk. Upon landing Carth had shutdown all systems to maintain power, and yet that was not the reason for the sheer black of the ships internal space. The internal lighting system flickered feebly as power trickled into them at thirty percent of normal. The shadowy interior that this created ran the length of the ship and was it's darkest in the crew bunks, where the light had been extinguished totally. The only sound on board was the hum of the engine idly ticking over, the environmental plant and a few computer confirmation chimes. All, except for the gentle weeping that echoed around the hawks internal corridors from one small bunk in the corner. The sobs slipped gently from the dark room, each one filled with more loss and guilt than many people would feel in a lifetime. Their source came from the young woman lying in a foetal position on the bunk's cover. Her face was covered in the tears that ran down her cheeks in a steady stream.

Bastila hugged her knees as she had once as a child. The bleak cold inside her burned and gnawed at her soul as the guilt and pain flooded into and around her.

"_You are a fool Revan_" He had been to love her the way he had, the way he did.

"_Come back to the light Bastila. I love you_." She'd wanted to, she remembered how the tiny flicker of light, swamped by darkness, had burned even brighter when it heard those words, fought against the darkness like a raging beast even though it had been so very tiny.

"_I could never love anyone so weak as you_." Such a lie, such a weak and petty lie, she'd known this even as she'd said it. She'd given in to the darkness that lived in her, lived in everyone as she'd come to realise. Revan had been given a second chance. Without training, had shown that it was down to the person rather than anything mentors could say or teach that defined who you were. Weak? He'd been stronger than she'd been, even the very first day he'd met her on Taris.

"_Then strike me down, I will not fight you anymore_." A sob escaped her at the memory of him standing there, sabre extinguished and a face filled with sorrow. Another sob wracked her body as she remembered the speed at which she'd lashed out with her own dark red sabre blade only to have it deflected by Revan's own lightning fast one. She'd seen the tip still extending from the hilt as he deflected hers and remembered the suffering in his eyes as battle rejoined.

Sighing she slid up to slump against the bulkhead, her head in her hands. She remembered the flow of the darkside in her, filling her every pore with its insidious power. She'd felt more power flow in her than ever before, and yet he'd been there. Yes, he'd been there and stood before her; confident and calm as she'd lashed out again and again trying to break through his defences.

"_Why can't I defeat you_?" Another foolish question, she'd known even then. Exhausted from the battle, sabre burns slashing her arms and wrists, so carefully avoiding anything mortally wounding, she'd known.

"_Take my strength Bastila. Use our link_." A moan of guilt escaped her lips as the memory overwhelmed her. The strength, not just of the force but also his sheer love for her, had swamped the blackness in a vast tide. It had beaten it back in her until she'd been able to fight it herself, adding her own meagre strength to his until only a tiny flicker of the darkness had remained. Even then it had been a struggle to surrender to the light once more. With Revan standing there, sabre once more extinguished, open to attack and playing such a dangerous game with a dark Jedi. She'd remembered the urging from what dark had remained to strike him down, to prove her worth to Malak. It had been so, so close until he'd said one final thing.

"_I believe in you Bastila, because I love you_," Such sweet simplicity. Such power behind them. She'd wanted them, needed to hear them and as they echoed around and through her she'd felt the last of the dark's hold over her vanish.

"_For what Its worth I love you too_" She'd meant it and still did. She loved him, who and what he was and had been. Unable to deny it had brought both relief and guilt. Such relief as who she once had been returned to her, and she'd cast aside the mantle of evil for her own belief in the lightside. Such guilt, as his love for her and her love for him defied the very core beliefs of being a Jedi.

Bastila rose from the bunk and slumped down the corridor to the Hawk's cockpit. She fell gently into the pilot's seat and gazed out of the plastisteel window. The party on the temples footsteps had really got into it's swing and she felt the exuberance of the crowd flow along the force as they danced, drank and enjoyed themselves. She closed her eyes and, even in her depression, smiled slightly at the feelings of exuberant happiness flowing from Mission, Zaalbar and Canderous as they relaxed. A gentle area of calm force power slipped away from the party and Bastila recognised it as Juhani. She sensed the inner troubled aura it gave off and knew Juhani was looking towards the Hawk, towards her, until eventually the Cathar slipped away.

Sighing, she turned her thoughts inwardly. She'd become a Jedi once again, yet the way she'd been redeemed spat on the first principle of being an actual Jedi. Love, powerful, untamed and dangerous. Not of the darkside but an emotion of incredible power. Did her love for Revan betray her to the darkside? She closed her eyes and felt a bubble of guilt roll in her gut. Everything she'd been taught at the academy warned of such emotion, the danger that they brought her. Yet, she'd been unable to stop herself from falling for him. The knowledge of who... _what,_ he had been should have made it easy for her. But, for all the meditation she'd done, for all the preparation at night to try and cope with being so close to him, had failed to stop the love she'd felt growing inside.

Their kiss, their first kiss; stolen in the rear of the Hawk had given her such longing for his touch, being close to him. Desire had been there yes, but just a need for him next to her had filled her body and soul. She'd fought it, desperately, madly, until she'd been unable to breathe and had stolen what little time with him she felt she could give from the mission.

Her fall to the darkside had begun just after the enemy had captured them. Admiral Karath had tortured her specifically, he knew she was Revan's weak point as Saul had tried his hardest to yank information from him. The pain of the torture field had been agonising, but she'd been able to cope until merciful unconsciousness had taken her. Her last memory, alongside the faint reminder of rippling pain, had been the agony ripping Revan in two as he'd watched her jerk and toss in the pain-field.

The escape had been furious with no time to think, but that was no excuse for her foolhardy attitude. Why had she sacrificed herself so stupidly to save Revan? She should have known that Malak would use her to make things worse for him and he'd been breaking free of the force stasis even as she'd moved to attack.

Had it been for the mission? Her guilt over what they'd done to him? . No, no it had been much simpler than that. Malak had been about to strike Revan down, or so she'd thought, and she'd blindly leapt to his defence, so frightened of losing him. No thought, no logical reason, just pure emotion. It could only have been this that had allowed Malak to work out how deep her feelings went for Revan. His triumphant eyes had been terrible to behold, as she lay injured at his feet, blood trickling from her mouth onto the cold metal floor. Worse had been the last glimpse of Revan she'd had, his face filled with anguish and fear for her life as the blast doors had begun to swing close. She'd watched his face and felt a lingering touch of the link between them.

"_I love you Bastila, hold on for my sake I beg you_," He'd whispered in her mind even as Carth had dragged him backwards down the corridor and the door had slammed shut.

The terrible knowledge of herself and Revan had given him a powerful pressure point to use against her. They'd dragged her to the temple beneath the Starforge, her arms manacled to her sides, a neural disrupting device strapped to her head to prevent focus. They'd tied her to the slab in the temple and; as a Sith medic had tended her wounds, no anaesthetic to dull the pain of each searing burn, Malak had been preparing his various methods of physical torture in front of her.

For five days she'd been tied there, cramp and the cold wearing her Jedi meditation raw as she'd tried to concentrate and shore up her ailing resistance. Malak had taken extreme delight in handing out physical torture. Most she had managed to block out, but some, some had been even more terrible than Saul's torture fields. Her hands shook as she ran her fingers over a set of faint marks on the skin of her stomach, almost healed. Malak had needed help for these. A young Sith woman had handed him each implement, watching with fascinated detachment at the use of each one. Tears welled in Bastila's eyes at the memory of the unbearable agony, when Malak had let her take over completely. He'd watched with obvious enjoyment at her greatly more skilled use of each implement. The woman had used stims to keep her conscious, especially through some of her more, inventive and lengthy, procedures. She'd been inventive each single day for long, unbearable hours; until Bastila had eventually passed out.

Malak's decision to switch to Jedi lightning had been just bearable to Bastila after all she'd gone through at the torture woman's hands. She'd steeled her mind and the pain had been reduced, mostly, to a bearable level. Despite all her effort though, Malak's ability to summon it only equalled his sadistic skill at using it.

It had been the fifth day or so when he'd come back to the chamber and the slab she'd been clamped to and had gloated over her vulnerable body.

"I see you're still with us my dear." He'd begun, his eyes flashing with delight at her fear. "No, heroic Revan to the rescue yet, I see. Maybe he's just given up trying to find you."

"No! He will come for me. Damn you, Malak he will."

He'd turned away from her then and had laughed sadistically.

"If that is the case then why has the Hawk been seen leaving Kashyykk and heading to a small moon in the Yavin system?" He'd turned back, his eyes flashing with dark amusement. "I remember all the star maps my dear Bastila. But I don't remember one near Yavin though. It is, however, an excellent place to begin if you wish to just disappear."

"No. Revan, Don't leave me here." She'd said in a horrified whisper. Quietly, but enough for Malak to realise he'd hit a major nerve."

"Ahhh... So the noble Bastila, she who refuses to feel any desire to discover the darkside for herself, to feel its power, is in love with the redeemed Lord of the Sith. How very un-Jedi of you my dear."

She'd turned away from him at that point, closing her eyes to block out his gloating expression even as she endured his taunting laughter. Once he'd left after another bout of agonising lightening torture, she'd stretched out her feelings into the bond between her and Revan to find only silence. Of course, now she realised that the Temple's darkside had been repressing the bond between them, much as it had during the destruction of Dantooine's enclave. Then; helpless, bruised and humiliated, it had been a different matter.

It had been one day later. An entire day and night where she'd stretched out her abilities with the force to breaking point trying to sense Revan's presence. Yearning, as she did, for his reassuring love. To give her any contact with him at all. That had been the day when Malak had finally dragged her over to the dark side.

He had come striding round the corner, to find her exhausted and weak from the draining use of the force. He'd looked at her with a strange glint in his eye and to her horror actually sat, propped up, next to her on the slab.

"Tell me Bastila, is it Revan you find attractive or just the fact that he was once like me, a Lord of the Sith. If its power you find attractive I can give you all you could ever want. I can show you how to get all you could ever want, the darkside could provide you with all the power you'll ever need. Just surrender yourself to me."

"I have already told you that I will never turn to the dark side Malak. Revan will come for me and he will destroy you. I promise you that." Exhausted and tired from torture, Malak had sensed her defeat in that final statement and decided to change tack once more.

With his back turned away from her he'd reached up to the metal cover guarding his neck and had released the clasps. It had come away from his face and he'd placed it gently into the hands of a attendant Sith.

"Let me tell you something private Bastila. I was Revan's most trusted friend when we were at the academy. I watched his back and saved his life as many times as he did for me during the Mandalorian wars. Then, of course, he began to fall to the dark side. It was slow at first, more... violent sabre combat, less mercy to his enemies and less consideration towards the people we were trying to save." He'd paused and reached a hand up to his face. "In essence he became the Revan I remember, not the puppet you and the council installed in his brain."

"Is there a point to all this?" She'd asked, exhaustion hanging on her every word. Bastila leaned back in the pilot chair as the horror swept over her once more. Malak had laughed a little and slowly turned to her prone position. She remembered flinching in disgust as his face, the entire lower portion shorn off by a Lightsabre and still raw, like a seeping wound, turned to face her.

"Look what he did to me!" He'd roared at her, his eyes flashing with rage. She'd pulled back as far as the plinth would let her, the cuffs biting into her wrists. "I was his friend, his confidant and when I refused to carry out a stupid order, just _once…_ he sliced my jaw off without so much as a word of warning!"

He moved closer and she'd felt her shoulders shrink into the plinth. "He did this! He sliced me open Bastila, for no other reason than one wrong _order_! That's the man you saved and that's the man you have fallen in love with!" He'd pulled back and turned slowly to stare at the ceiling. "I yearned at that point to kill him and when I found out that you and your Jedi team intended to capture him, I knew I had the perfect chance. I used you to keep him busy and struck when his back was turned, watched every laser blast strike that bridge until I rendered his ship a smoking hulk!"

Malak had walked closer and his eyes burned with memory.

"Then you, you had the gall to keep him alive!" He pointed at his sliced face. "The man who did this, who tried to deny me my right as leader of the Sith was given a second chance by you and you alone. I hated you for that, but when Velo told me that Revan had forgotten who he was, I had to give you credit. You've harmed him in such a way I couldn't have dreamed of _and_ expected him to be grateful!"

Bastila shuddered on the Hawk at the remembered sensation of Malak, his face so close to hers that she could see each individual raw cut, rubbing his cheek against hers. Felt once more the shame, as animal terror and disgust had swamped her, the sensation of dead tissue slithering over her as she lay chained to cold stone. Recalled the moan of terror that had escaped her lips as her Jedi conditioning abandoned her. She'd hated him, with every bone in her body. All the friends she'd made at the academy that he and his dark Jedi lackeys had cut ruthlessly down, all the good soldiers and innocent civilians he'd wiped out and finally after all of his crimes, the erasure of Taris from the galaxy. All of these burned inside her at the sight of his gloating face.

"_Revan, help me! Please_!"

"Now, of course," Malak murmured, his face inches from hers. "I get to hurt him even more, by taking the one thing that he has from all of this and twisting it to my will. I also get my revenge against you my dear, for keeping him alive. By turning you into everything you hate! You, Bastila will become my apprentice and you will have the pleasure of killing him if he should stand in my way!"

She'd felt the anger build inside her. Hatred and fear of the man who stood in front of her had welled, uncontrolled, deep inside her and begun to spill into her soul. She'd felt herself beginning to lose control and had desperately fought to regain her balance. Malak had felt her rage begin to overwhelm her, her force aura rippling with the sheer power of such a dark emotion, and had decided now was the time to play his final card, to use her love against her.

"Revan will never change Bastila. His loyalties to friends have always been what suit him at the time. I as much as anyone know this to be true. He wooed you to keep you from seeing the truth, he doesn't care for you at all. All he saw in you was power and something to have a little fun with.

She'd turned on the plinth, the metal cuffs biting into her wrists. Her eyes blazing with anger and fury.

"No!"

"He left you here at my mercy and he'll never save you from me. You're mine."

"NO!" She'd screamed her voice raw with rage.

"I must admit, I can't see why you even thought he might find you attractive. I know his type well... That young Cathar is the type of woman he normally goes for, "He stroked her face and felt the trembling muscles under her skin. "He revels in those that are powerful Bastila, those that are emotional and full of spirit. Not you, a spoiled Jedi princess, so full of yourself."

Fighting against the cuffs, she'd snarled and yanked against the plinth holding her away from Malak, her one desire to kill him, to strike him down with her bare hands.

"Mind you, he could be with them now. I wonder if he's managed to seduce the Cathar by now?"

Unable to free herself, She'd concentrated all of her hate on his laughing visage and her soul burned with the desire to hurt him, rend him limb from limb. She'd felt a sudden exhilaration as a blast of electric force suddenly shot from her body and blew Malak back across the chamber. She'd fallen back exhausted and Malak had risen slowly to his feet, his laughter ringing in her ears.

"Good, Bastila, good. Again, only this time release _all _of your hate, for your hate makes you _powerful_!" Malak had pushed into her weak spot once more. "He won't come because he fears the past, fears me and hates you for your betrayal. You took everything away from him and your love will never be enough for him to forgive you. You acted like a good little puppet of the Jedi council, someone who played on his emotions to get what you wanted."

"It wasn't like that!" She'd screamed at him as the guilt filled her. With it had come yet more anger. Anger at him for exposing her deepest fear, anger at herself and anger at the council. "We had no choice, you had to be stopped!"

"And so you ripped his memories away from him and then used your charms to help him get the ones you needed."

"No, I didn't."

"Used the fact that he was falling in love with you to taste the darkside inside him, to taste the passion." Malak felt the rage flow once more and triumphantly finished. "Admit it Bastila you used him completely! You're no better than me!"

Enraged, the guilt, anger and fear all boiling inside her, she'd screamed at his gloating tone, hitting him again and again as hard as possible with bolt after bolt of lightning, reaching deeper into the dark side of herself. For hours, Malak had just laughed at each blow; knowing full well that she'd been consumed by the darkside inside her and would soon submit to his rule.

The final consuming act, however, had been hers and hers alone. The one thing that had dammed her to the dark path forever, or so she'd thought. Malak had summoned the guards from the adjoining chamber and they had dragged a familiar looking woman in, her hands bound with fibre rope. She'd looked up at Bastila, still chained to the plinth and trembled as her eyes had widened in recognition. Malak had grabbed the young woman's head and twisted it up.

"Remember her Bastila? Remember how she helped me torture you? The pain and suffering she caused with a few choice implements?"

"Oh I remember Malak," she'd whispered her eyes blazing with cold fire. "Unchain me and watch how well I remember, if you want to lose one of your soldiers."

Malak had smiled and shrugged. She'd watched in shock as he'd reached out with the force and unlocked the cuffs holding her to the stone slab. The young woman had moaned in terror as she'd sat up and glared at Malak with hatred.

"You free me Malak? Me, a Jedi who has sworn to destroy you at first opportunity."

"Oh yes Bastila. You have felt the darkside's power course through you when you struck me with your rage. Now, tell me truthfully Bastila, that the power I offer you is not intriguing. Serve me as my apprentice and I will teach you how to harness the blackness inside yourself!"

She'd paused and felt the last few dregs of her self-control slip away as the darkside whispered seductively to her soul.

"I can see your heart Bastila, give in to the taint that whispers in your mind, it is the true path to understanding the force!"

"Very well, I... I agree to be your apprentice." She'd eventually said, feeling the need for power swell in her breast. "But you must swear to teach me _all_ you know!"

Malak had nodded, his eyes blazing with triumph. He'd thrown her a Lightsabre and leaned against the wall. She'd looked at the weapon, igniting the red blade with it's familiar "snap, hiss" and then at him.  
"What do you expect me to do with this?" She'd asked.

"You see the woman in front of you? Remember how she handed me each implement and watched with delight each time I used one?"

She'd nodded and watched the blood drain from the young woman's face and her body begin to tremble. The feeling was... intoxicating, even as a small part of her screamed in horror at what she was doing.

"Then take your revenge for all she has done. Kill her, maim her I Don't care to tell the truth! I can always find more... useful soldiers to replace this one, even with her fascination of torture techniques."

"Please," The young woman had murmured, shaking in terror at the glint in Bastila's eyes.. "Please don't kill me Jedi, I... I don't want to die."

"I didn't want to be tortured, life can be cruel," She'd smiled sadistically at the woman, and had revelled in the power as the darkness swept over her. "If you want to live, give me one good reason why I should spare you."

"Y...you're a Jedi. All life is sacred, p... please don't kill me."

"Not good enough!"

She'd sliced the sabre across the woman's arms and laughed at her cry of agony. The woman had fallen onto the floor moaning in pain at the cauterised wounds slicing her wrists. She'd knelt down close to her ear, the feeling of power over this woman swirling inside her.

"I'll give you another chance to live, try again. Why should I spare you?"

"P... please, show me mercy and I'll do anything you want. Anything I'll be your servant for the rest of my life, only please... spare me."

She'd stood up and toyed with the sabre, looking down at the pathetic young woman who she'd held the power of life or death over. Eventually she'd sighed and kneeled down once more.

"Well, I'm flattered that you'd give me your worthless life, but letting you live would be an act of mercy." The woman's eyes had widened in horror. "As the Sith code states, there's nothing worse than mercy, is there? So why would I bother with it and with you?"

She'd stood and, even as the woman had cried out to Malak, spun on her heel and stabbed backwards with the red blade. A quick scream had echoed around the chamber but Bastila had listened to the gentle, clothy sounds as the lifeless body slipped onto the stone floor with a gentle thud. It had felt good, good to release all the hate and anger in one massive rush! Malak had nodded with satisfaction at the lifeless body and had motioned for some guards to clean it up. He'd escorted her then to the Starforge, where she'd felt darker power than she'd believed could exist.

For all her life, the Jedi had worked into her the denial of her emotions. She'd wanted Revan so much, and yet she'd resisted everything she'd felt. It had been at that point, the power of the forge with her, flowing into her dark soul, when the bond between her and Revan had resurfaced. She'd carefully reached out until she could sense him coming closer to the planet and the temple. Carefully she'd pulled back until she was certain he couldn't feel her presence. She'd felt the love pounding in him as he fought to get to her and it had filled her with desire.

"Master, Revan is coming." She'd told him looking up at her new dark lord. "He comes for me and for you."

Malak had paused and shrugged.

"We will destroy him. More precisely Bastila, you will destroy him. Meet him on the temple and strike him down! I have no need for an ex lord of the Sith for I have all the power now!"

Looking up at Malak she felt a distaste for such a brute leading the Sith. "_Revan deserves the chance to lead us, the most powerful of all the Sith lords_. _I can undo the pathetic personality I helped place in his mind_." She'd thought watching Malak bluster about the power he now had. . "_And if I turn him as Malak has turned me… We could be together and… share, the power of the Sith_. _I'd never be alone ever again, he'd always be with me, could never chance losing me for I could defeat him_."

Malak had nodded with satisfaction as she'd walked off to the docking ring, so sure of his hold over her.

Huddled in the pilot chair on the Hawk, Bastila moaned in terrible guilt at the memory of what she'd done. She raised her hands and looked at them, she could see the blood of her victim staining them, though the searing sabre blade had spilled none.

"_I failed_._ I killed that woman in cold blood. Worse I wanted to and revelled in it. Her death is on my hands for the rest of my life," _She thought miserably._ "So she was a Sith, and a torturer, but she was helpless and I should have shown mercy_. "

"_Worse, what the hell was I thinking? I actually wanted to twist Revan to the darkside! I wanted him to take me as his apprentice, to have him teach me power. I wanted him more than anything to touch me with dark passion, with burning desire, to take me to depths I'd never dreamed of! What happened to having his simple love? To being with him? _"

Even as she asked herself the question, she knew the answer. She'd been afraid of losing him. A Jedi should not love, she knew that and had been trained to believe in it by them. Then, she'd found herself falling in love and it had felt wonderful, wonderful and right. She'd known then, even as he'd kissed her on the Hawk, that the council could take him away from her. She'd been frightened and the Sith had seemed the perfect answer. Turn him to the darkside and become his, in every way… succumb to her passions, succumb to his.

Her thoughts turned back once again to how easily Malak had turned her. She knew her emotional control had been weaker than others, but still.

_"I should have stopped Malak from using my own hatred against me. For all of my training, it took a fallen Jedi who loved me to bring me back_._ But what does that make me?_"

Bastila rocked back and forth in the chair as she fought with her inner guilt asked herself questions she'd gone over again and again, unable to stop.

"_Am I a Jedi or not?_" She thought glumly. "_If I am not a Jedi then what am I? Do I have the right to ask for both love and the force? Do I have the right to ask for love from someone I lied to?" _Questions she knew she could not answer herself. Yet, she couldn't face taking them to the one group who could hold the answers she needed. Seeing Master Vandar at the ceremony had been awful. The guilt had welled inside her, even as the admiral had pinned the Medal to her chest and offered her and the council's thanks for aiding Revan. She'd smiled woodenly and nodded in thanks and had stood there waving to the crowds even as she knew the council on Coruscant had requested her presence, no doubt to discuss her fall and an acceptable punishment.

"The fall of Bastila, the proud and wilful... I could live with that I suppose." She muttered, even as the thought of such a tale being woven into Jedi archives filled her with dread. What filled her with even more horror, was the possibility of being cast from the Jedi completely or castigated to the very beginning of Jedi training. The stigma would be more than she could bear, especially if Revan was there when it happened.

Pulling herself from the cockpit chair, Bastila went to move towards the rear of the ship and her darkened bunk. A chime on the Hawks comms panel pulled her around and she turned reluctantly towards it. With a few button presses, the message scrolled across the screen and her eyes widened in shock.

"Oh no."


	3. Revenant:Chapter1:part three

Chapter one, part three.

Revan sat on the sandy beach and watched the sun slowly begin to sink into the horizon. He'd been filled with many thoughts and emotions despite his attempts to be at peace with himself.

How many people had he been responsible for killing in this war? Hundreds, thousands... Soldiers, innocents, other Jedi. How much blood was on his hands? How many people had followed him, believed in him and the Sith. How many, ultimately, had he betrayed on both sides as the war had raged on?

He sighed, depression and guilt tearing at him, and looked out to sea once more. Everything that he'd believed in about himself and this damn war had been a lie. His name, where he came from… even his past occupation. How much of all he could recall about himself was true? More importantly, how much was all a lie? The council had thought it was doing the right thing, but if that was so and he had been redeemed in the light... Why did the councils decision seem more and more like an option the Sith would have used. Who had the right to take everything that made someone who they were away?

The sand whispered under his hands and he ran his fingers through the soft layers. His mind was like the sand on this damn beach. Each grain was a question and as he disturbed one, others moved as well. All he had were questions and the guilt that went with them.

"_And the one thing I do have, the one thing I don't want to let go of, is wrong in the eyes of the Jedi code. I love her so much, hell even more than before. I can't live without her and I don't want to try! But it was my love that dammed her to the darkside, my love that made her sacrifice herself_." He looked up and guilt swelled inside him. "_My fault that she was tortured until she couldn't take any more. I saved her, but for what? She feels she failed me, the Jedi and mostly herself. I know that she does, but she's wrong, it was my fault. By the force, what am I going to do? How can I face her when everything that happened to her was my fault. Everything that was put in motion, caused by me."_

"A credit for your thoughts, young knight." A familiar voice asked gently behind him as soft footfalls crunched through the sand.

Revan felt the familiar presence of Master Vandar slowly hobble next to him, but he kept his eyes fixed on the last parts of the setting sun, until a grunt sounded as the old master slowly sat on the sand.

"I was just thinking about stuff, that's all." Revan muttered softly, running his hands through the sand once more. Vandar watched him quietly.

"I can sense where your thoughts run young Knight. Many things cause you concern. The war, the loss of so much life on both sides and your part in all of this." Vandar watched as Revan's hands stopped moving in the sand and tightened slightly. "Then of course you have your own problems. One of which we, the council, have brought upon you and one which you may have brought upon yourself."

Revan sighed and turned to the small green alien who sat with his cane between his knees. Vandar watched his face carefully, saw the guilt flashing in his eyes.

"Despite your refusal to follow some aspects of the Jedi code, it was not your fault that Bastila fell to the darkside."

"No, you're wrong! It was my love that dammed her, gave Malak a pressure point to use against her. Hell, it was her love for me that made her charge him on the Leviathan, even though she knew she'd never win."

Vandar looked at Revan.

"So you feel it is solely your fault she fell to the darkside… I cannot lie to you, it's possible you did assist her descent and you know why. You knew a Jedi should never love, you knew where it could lead, but you did not have training to resist such emotions. However, we sent Bastila with you for the very reason that she _had_ been trained to resist such emotion. Yet, she surrendered to it herself."

Revan laughed bitterly and Vandar looked up from the sand he too had been studying for answers.

"You can't resist love Master, it's too powerful." Revan said quietly. "I didn't think, hell, at first I didn't _want _to fall in love with Bastila. So stubbornly proud of being a Jedi, that's all I remember thinking at our first meeting. Then, you started to train me. You know how hard I found it sometimes."

Vandar nodded.

"Many young Jedi do. You may have achieved in weeks what others take years to do but I saw how hard it was sometimes. Some lessons cannot be recalled, no matter how powerful the Jedi, they have to be re-learned."

Revan smiled at the memory.

"Well, the one person I could turn to was Bastila. She knew so much and was willing to share anything I needed, and she dropped her abrasive attitude each time as well. I felt myself falling for her and then as we tried to find the starmaps, so much happened and she was always there, helping me cope, to decide to do the right thing. I owe her everything I am and, and I found myself falling for her." Revan looked at Vandar as he shifted slightly. "I tried to resist and so did she. She fought what she felt for me and tried so hard to control her emotions. It wasn't her fault, Master Vandar..."

Revan trailed off as the last few inches of sun vanished under the horizon and the sky began to darken.

"In the end, her heart decided for her." He shook his head at the irony of the situation Bastila and himself had found themselves in. " All the people she could fall for, it had to be the fallen Jedi she'd been sent to protect."

He watched as the dark blue sky continued to fade into blackness. "The link we shared may have had something to do with it. Guess I should have realised that the force wanted us to be together, no matter how many codes it violated."

Vandar looked at Revan, his face impassive, except for the eyes, which looked troubled.

"The link you and Bastila share was and is dangerous, we should have realised it as such. Although it is rare, there have been other Jedi who have had such a link created between them. Each time it has proven to be hard for them to control their emotions, especially love for each other. We should have realised it could have led to this, led to Bastila and yourself becoming more than fellow Jedi. Perhaps we should have stopped any chance of this occurring."

Revan looked at him, appalled.

"How can you say that? Having her love kept me going, even when she'd been kidnapped. I hung on the link between us, willed her realise I was coming. The link we shared, the love, saved her from the darkside. Besides," He looked at Vandar once again. "The Dantooine council is in a fine position to lecture me or her on morals."

He looked away and began to fiddle with his sabre hilt and as Vandar opened his mouth to speak, shot him a look.

"I can't live without her Master Vandar and the council will have to get used to it. If they really want, I'll face a tribunal or something. But she's up there in the Hawk right now, beaten and broken in spirit and she won't speak to me. She's even blocking anything I try through our bond and its tearing me apart! Despite the guilt I feel, I need her help!" He felt his anger and desperation rise and fought to control his temper. "Help to understand who I am... What I am! The council erased my personality but I still get flashbacks, some of which I wake from screaming. Do you know how many times I'd wake to find Mission standing there, distraught, almost crying?"

Revan paused and felt the bitterness inside him. A gentle pressure on his arm made him look down. Vandar's left hand rested gently on his arm. He sighed and tried to let go of his anger.

"I was Revan, but I remember so little about who I was. You gave me a new identity when Bastila came to you with my broken mind. You gave me a name, past and occupation; all of which were false and I can't keep going any more knowing and living this, this _lie_ of who I am. I neither want to be Revan or who you created! I've heard the arguments you gave Bastila for doing this, but the fact remains that you stole everything that I was. Then when you found I had information and skills you needed, you asked Bastila to guide me and try to pull any memories I had left from my mind. No matter how hard I try, I... I can't forgive you for that. I blamed Bastila at first, the woman who saved my life had betrayed me. The ashamed look she gave me then still fills me with guilt. So, now I'm the 'redeemed Jedi Revan, hero of the Republic.' and I should feel happy, but I can't. Bastila's guilt, her own impossible position, coupled with the loss of who I was, the false life I always thought I'd had. That's what I can't forgive the council for, what I don't want to forgive you for!"

Vandar sighed.

"Such anger," Revan grunted and Vandar could see his struggle with it. "All of it justifiable. Understand Revan, that we had little choice in the matter, or rather no choice at all. When Bastila brought your body to us you were barely alive. It had been her use of the force and nothing more that had allowed the flicker of life in your shattered body to remain. I remember coming into that room, seeing her covered in soot, and grease from dragging you to safety. Such exhaustion etched into her face as her force flowed into you at a terrible rate, even as the medics struggled to continue what she'd begun. Watching the two of you in that room was terrible to see, especially when we found that your mind had been ruined from the damage to your brain."

Vandar ran his fingers through the sand once more as Revan leaned back and watched the dark sky, behind them the temple lit up as the party's lights slowly flickered into existence. The warm glow was welcome but Revan felt a cold knot tighten in his belly as he listened.

"It was decided, not just by us but also by the council on Coruscant, that we owed it to what you had once been to try and give you a future. We had so little to work with some even thought any chance we had of restoring you to a level where you could look after yourself was slim. To accomplish the restoration we had to use the most powerful method of instilling the force power needed to try and heal your mind. Although the council had the ability, or so we hoped, to at least try and restore something of you, we needed help."

Revan looked at Vandar and knew the answer.

"I knew that Bastila saved my life, I guess I owe her my mind too."

Vandar looked at Revan with a troubled glance.

"Bastila provided the link we needed, reluctantly I might add when she found out we could not restore your mind, even if we had wanted to. The process took many days of concentration and we had little hope of succeeding no matter how many of us concentrated, the damage seemed to severe."

"Seemed?"

"After five days or so something odd happened, your mind began to... heal itself. At first we had been trying to simply imprint enough into you so that you could have basic abilities; such as feeding yourself, walking and talking. Your mind was that damaged, we thought it would be all we could achieve. Later... later it became easier to imprint even more complex memories into your mind, until eventually who you are now was created."

Vandar looked at Revan and smiled sadly.

"I wish I could say that what we did, we did out of compassion. I suppose there is one person there that day that did, even though she thought our idea of using you might be wrong. It had been the will of the council and we were never immoral and never wrong. I wish however I could believe that." Vandar fiddled with a few sand grains and continued.

"I still believe that you should have been told and not just when your force power began to manifest itself. We should have given Bastila permission to tell you what happened to you as soon as you could have coped. However the other council members thought it would be too dangerous and forbid Bastila or myself from telling you. They thought they were protecting you from your past, but I wonder now if they were protecting themselves from having to face what they had done, as well as fearing what could remain locked in your mind."

"It could be argued that erasing what little remained of the previous Revan's personality, trails close to the darkside Master Vandar."

"Exactly, it took many days to decide to do even that. However, Malak's attacks and the desperate position the Republic and we found ourselves in, made the decision for us. So, we reprogrammed your mind and gave you a new personality and past. Bastila, was assigned to look after you when she realised she could 'feel' what you did and also sometimes 'see' your dreams," He sighed once again. "I remember how terrified she was when it first happened. She came to me first, I don't know why. She was distraught, despite all her training in emotional control, tears were running down her face. Eventually, she managed to explain that she had seen the battle of Revan's flagship from your viewpoint and it scared her. I knew what had happened then and the council confirmed it with further testing."

"Oh Bastila..." Revan sighed, feeling guilty.

"Imagine how she felt young Knight. Bastila is many things... Wilful, proud and sometimes, yes, she can be full of herself. However she is also a very private person, deeply emotional despite all our efforts. When she found you would be able to see and feel what she had... it upset her terribly. We feared that you would both become agents of evil, but we had no choice and I, for one, am glad it has turned out this way... It could have been so much worse."

Vandar looked up at the inky sky, searching for answers to the questions he knew Revan needed explanations for.

"I cannot say that my colleagues are, pleased, by what has happened to you and young Bastila. However, I think that love is possibly the best outcome in this situation. As to what we did to you... All I can say is that the council regrets what it had to do, but it was necessary at the time and it was done with that in mind "

Revan nodded but his look of uneasiness and his annoyance with the council remained.

"Those still don't answer the question of who I am, what I am! Who has the answers about my mind? I need to know why it began to mend itself, why I'm not a gibbering vegetable!" He looked at Vandar and cocked his head slightly. "Does anyone know the answers?"

"Our knowledge of the force was, disrupted by the battle with the Sith and Exar Kuhn. Not only did we lose a large number of good knights in that battle, but our archives were disrupted and a large portion of the older knowledge stolen by the Sith. The method we had to use in order to repair your damaged mind is ancient, one of the oldest actually. Although we knew it could possibly save your mind, how it actually works is contained in a holocron missing from the archives." Vandar felt Revan's anger drain slowly away. "I'm sorry Revan, the answers you seek lie elsewhere than on Dantooine or Coruscant.

Revan nodded slowly.

"I'd still like to see the council on Coruscant... One of the Masters there may know of a place I could begin looking," He looked at Vandar once more. "Besides, I know that they want to see Bastila. I'm not leaving her to see them alone."

Vandar nodded, he had expected as much. Revan didn't miss much around him..

"I shall inform them that you will be there as her counsel. As much as your love and desire to protect her is the real reason, it does not allow you access into the chamber with her. By giving you the act of counsel you can remain with her no matter what is discussed. Please, accept this as part of the apology for what we did to both of you, and my own personal gratitude."

Revan smiled at the wizened Jedi Master and bowed as he rose from the beach.

Suddenly a flash of emotion from Bastila slammed into him and his head snapped upward to look at the temple and the beach beyond, where the Hawk lay. Vandar felt the change in Revan's emotions and looked up at the Knight with concern.

"Young Revan, what is it?"

He looked at Vandar and swallowed as Bastila's shock rippled through him.

"Something's wrong with Bastila... something powerful enough to knock aside her guilt, even for a little while... I can't tell what but..."

They both looked around as a roar from the other side of the temple echoed down the beach. Revan was the first to recognise it, the main engines of the Ebon Hawk in full burn. He looked up, as it's bulk rose in a dark shadow above the temple and began to slide towards the sky.

"Bastila..." He whispered into the link and the air. "_What's wrong, what's happened_?"

He felt her withdraw from him as he reached out, blocking him once again as she had with her guilt. He couldn't break through to her without pushing, something he'd never tried and didn't want to.

The hawk flew across the beach and buffeted them with its downward thrust exhaust as it hammered across the sky before boosting into full power and roaring upwards. Revan and Vandar watched it slowly dwindle until a faint female voice began to call Revan, growing in strength.

"Rev, Rev! Bastila's taken the Hawk!" Mission came dashing across the dunes, worry and panic creasing her young features. "She's gone, but she left a datacube on the beach for you. I dunno what's in it though. Kinda personal maybe."

Revan touched the young Twi'lek on the shoulder and took the cube from her hands, the others of his group had caught up with her and came dashing over.

"Where's the Hawk?"

"Bastila took it... Why?"

"Query: Do we hunt the female meatbag down?"

Revan looked at them all gathered in one spot and with a shrug activated the datacube. Text flashed up on the screen, a short message and his lover's face, rumpled and tearful. _I've got to go. It's a personal matter on Coruscant, so you don't need to come. I'll be back on Dantooine as soon as possible. I love you, take care. Bast_. He looked up at Carth.

"We need a ship, as fast as possible..."

Carth tilted his head in a slight nod and looked at Revan's face, the upset in his eyes.

"Sure, I'll see what the Admiral can rustle up... Where do we need to go?"

Revan looked around at his friends and sighed.

"She's gone to Coruscant... It's personal, but I think she'll need my help. You lot can stay here if you want. Zaalbar, I know you want to get back to Kashyykk, so I release you from your life debt. Thank you for all your help."

Zaalbar stood shocked and then roared his approval.

It has been an honour to travel with you Revan. You have proven to be both a great warrior and diplomat to my people. If you ever need my help, all you need is ask. 

He nodded and bowed to the Wookie. Turning, he looked at the others.

"Any of you want to take up the offers flooding in from the republic can do so, you don't need my permission."

Carth sighed and looked up at the temple clouded in shadows. His son was at the party and he needed to remain also.

"I, I need to spend some time with Dustil, I'm sorry Revan, really. Look, I'll get you the fastest ship I can pilfer from Dodonna but I have to stay with him, get reacquainted. You don't need a pilot. I know you can fly!"

Revan nodded and smiled at him.

"I understand, and a fast ship is all I'm asking for. Anyone else?"

Mission looked at him and at the huge Wookie who had been her friend for many years. Sad though she was to see him go, she was pleased that it would be to his father's side.

"Well I'm sticking with you Rev, and it seems everyone else is too. Z you take care on Kashyykk and, and I'll try to visit soon okay?

You will always be welcome at my home Mission. I really do hope to see you soon. I wish to present you to the rest of my family as my most trusted friend. 

Mission blushed and turned away as a feeling of sorrow overwhelmed her for a few seconds. Her life was changing so quickly, a street urchin one-day and a hero of the republic the next. Sniffing slightly she turned back to see Zaalbar and Revan both watching her with sad smiles.

"What? Look," She pointed at Zaalbar. "You get going and I'll see you soon " She pointed at Revan. "You and me have got a ship to board and a girlfriend to find. So lets hussle!"

Revan smiled at her flustered expression and nodded, he turned to the others.

"What about you lot."

Jolee and Juhani looked at each other and back at Revan. They nodded both sporting smiles. Canderous merely shrugged.

"I've got nothing planned up at the moment. Don't even think of trying to suggest the Republic to me… They wouldn't like my ideas of tactics at all. I'll hang around until I can find another merc job I suppose. That of course, is if you still want me around Revan."

Revan nodded and Canderous bowed slightly. He looked around at his friends and felt a feeling of honour fill him.

"I just want to say, before some of us part company, that it has been an honour and a privilege to call you all friends. No matter where the force takes us in the future, I will always consider you so… Now, lets get to Coruscant, Bastila needs me, no matter how much she pretends otherwise."

Vandar watched as they moved swiftly up the beach and sighed to himself. As much as he knew the code of the Jedi, as much as he believed in its warnings of emotion… Bastila and Revan did need each other and the force knew that, as much as they, it seemed.

"_Even after my hundreds of years of learning about the force I can still be surprised by the choices it takes. First a link as deep as life and death and now love, the two of them could have been a power for either side and yet the redeemed saved the fallen, and all through love. Who are we to argue with the will of the force?_"

With a wry grunt he wandered back up the beach to discuss these events with his fellow Jedi. The council had to be informed, especially some of his colleagues on Coruscant.


	4. Revenant:Chapter1:part four

Chapter one, part 4.

The Ebon Hawk burst out of hyperspace and hurtled towards the vast planet in front. Coruscant, its entire surface covered in one huge city, gleamed brightly in the darkness of space. Bastila looked out of the cockpit's window and watched the gossamer threads of the vast airways, making up the City Streets, flicker. She waited silently, feeling the emptiness of the hawks crew compartment behind her.

"_I had to go on my own_!" she thought, trying to convince herself that she wasn't making a terrible mistake. "_This has nothing to do with him… He has more important matters to deal with_."

She wished that the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach would vanish, that secretly she didn't wish Revan was here now, to hold her.

"There is no emotion, only peace." She muttered, even as part of her yearned for him. "I can do this on my own, I can."

"Attention, this is Coruscant planetary traffic control, sector 4. Please state your purpose and destination."

Bastila leaned across to the Hawk's communication panel and hit a button.

"Control this is the Ebon Hawk, Bastila Shan piloting. I wonder if you could help me locate someone."

Hawk this is control. Certainly Ms. Shan who is it you wish to find?"

Bastila ran a hand through her hair, closing her eyes for a second to centre herself and grip her emotions as much as possible. Wishing she felt calmer than she did, Bastila sighed and hit transmit once more.

"I'm looking for Helena Shan, my mother. I understand she's been transferred to the Shinkata hospital but I've no idea where that is on Coruscant. Can you help me?"

"Just a second Hawk… Okay. I've got one hospital by that name and an Helena Shan is currently present there, I can't tell you any more due to information restrictions but I guess you'll be able to find out, huh."

Bastila closed her eyes for a second as a quick stab of fear clenched her. Concentrating she felt it dissipate, replaced by determination. She reached for the controls of the Hawk and ran a pre-systems landing check.

"Can you guide me in control?"

"Sure. Head for beacon four twenty six alpha and then enter destination code sigma ninety when it queries you. It'll light your path right there, just follow the guide boxes."

Hawk confirms and thanks you."

She snapped the autopilot off standby and entered the control beacon co-ordinates. The Hawk banked slowly and rotated upright as it began to enter the atmosphere of the planet. As its heatshields glowed red from re-entry, Bastila watched quietly, absorbed in her own thoughts. Her mothers pale face swam in front of her, sick but determined as she confronted the young woman who had been her daughter. The meeting had been difficult and painful for them both. Even now, she remembered the anger and hostility that had been present when they'd met. Both so proud and both too stubborn to admit any love for the other.

"So foolish," She muttered, thinking of her own hostility.

Revan had been there, as always, when she'd come back to give the holocron of her father to Helena. She'd been reluctant to give it up and quick, harsh words had followed. Words she regretted now, especially when she discovered her mother had been dying.

"_Will one of you, give the other a break_?" She remembered that too. Revan standing there awkward but determined to help any way he could.

Now of course it was all different. Helena had told her she was dying from a slow killer and that all that had been done could have been. Bastila felt the guilt resurface in her stomach, causing it to knot painfully at her own happiness over reconciling the differences with her mother, to being dashed by the terrible news. But she still had a chance to be with her mother, for as long as the force would allow her to remain and it would be her who would tell her mother what had happened … and then she would submit to her final choice.

"_You there, look after my daughter_!" He had done, as much as any person could have done in the circumstances, more. It had been her fault she'd fallen, hers alone. Bastila looked across as the spires of Coruscant slid into view and sighed. She'd decided also, that it was time the council on Coruscant knew what had happened to her. She would accept their punishment, not matter what it would be, without hesitation. "_Another reason why he's better off without me_." She thought sadly._ "I won't let Revan's chance at being forgiven be damaged by my moment of weakness._"

She sighed once more and jerked from her thoughts at the chiming of the guide beacon requesting a destination code. She clicked the code into the comms panel and watched as green guide boxes appeared on the Navicom panel. Steering towards the centre of the boxes, Bastila guided the Hawk slowly towards the glittering steel spire of Shinkata hospital.

Revan.

"This was the best Dodonna could do?"

Mission looked around in disgust at the cramped cargo hold of the freighter she, Revan and the others currently occupied. Revan sighed in resignation and looked up from the floor where he'd been meditating. Juhani and Jolee both sat next to him, both blissfully unaware of the irate Twi'lek standing in front of them.

"We'll have to rough it until we get to Coruscant and the Hawk, okay?" He looked around and winced slightly as his own words came back to haunt him.

The freighter was fast, faster than he'd hoped it could have been. Dodonna had supplied them with the Gamblers Luck, a smugglers vessel that one of the ships had apprehended before being recalled by Carth's desperate message. It was fast. Not as fast as the Hawk admittedly, but fast enough. However, having been a Rodian vessel it wasn't exactly kitted out for comfort. He also had to admit that she wasn't the cleanest ship he'd seen either. None of them had ventured to sleep in any of the bunks after Mission had pulled some rather explicit magazines from under one of the covers. Juhani had decided at that point to meditate for the whole journey and currently sat peacefully in the middle of the empty cargo hold. Jolee had swigged something out of a bottle he'd pilfered from the party and was also sitting in the cargo hold, only the snoring coming from his wizened frame the give-away as to his preferred course of passing the time.

"Rev, have you seen the food synthesiser? It's not been cleaned in months. I lived better than this in the Taris slums! Oh, and also where am I and Canderous going to sleep?"

"Well, I last saw him pulling the mag's you found, from the bin in the crew annex and wandering off to the back bunks. He had a sly smile on his face I recall, I think he quite liked one of the Twi'lek on the cover…"

Mission looked at Revan in horrified disgust and made a face. Juhani opened her eyes and quietly watched the two of them bickering. There was too much raw emotion for the Cathar to concentrate on meditation and she decided to lend the obviously flustered Revan a hand.

"Mission my dear, why not just use one of the survival packs from the environmental lockers and unroll the sleeping bag onto the medi-bay couch?"

Mission paused in her rant at Revan and thought for a few seconds. Slowly she nodded.

"Well, I suppose that could work. It won't be as comfortable as the Hawk's bunks but I suppose I've slept on worse," She paused and a look of discomfort swam onto her face. "But there's no way on Taris that I'm sleeping on my own in there! The med-bay's only two doors down from the crew bunks, I'm not having that Mandalorian getting any ideas!"

Revan sighed and tried to hide a smile as he stood up. Looking at Juhani he winked and she tilted her head down slightly in amused agreement.

"Okay Mission, okay. How about I come with you and meditate outside the doorway to the med-bay? It'll give you privacy and security and I'll be in the warm. This Cargo hold's too cold."

"Huh, Ju's coping okay, so's Jolee. You're only doing this cause you think I'm being silly."

Revan sighed and felt a part of himself glower at Juhani's growing amusement. The Cathar, sensing his annoyance, refolded her legs and closed her eyes. Soon she was a picture of serenity, but Revan could hear the slight purr in each breath she took, something he'd come to recognise as her version of a snigger.

"Juhani's got fur Mission. She's walking around in the equivalent of a thermal coat all the time, so it's no wonder she's not cold. As for Jolee, I doubt he could feel anything the state he's in! Look, do you want to get some sleep or not? I have _enough_ things to worry about as it is!"

Mission's face fell slightly as guilt crept into it. She shuffled slightly on the deck and felt embarrassed.

"I'm sorry Rev. I, I'd be really happy if you'd come and keep an eye on me, I mean on Canderous. I'd feel a lot safer, especially now big Z's not here."

Revan smiled and nodded at the young woman and slowly picked himself up off the floor. Dusting his white robes from the Starforge he looked at them with a frown.

"You know… I may just go and see one of the Jedi enclave tailors while we're on Coruscant. These robes aren't exactly flattering. Maybe something in dark blue and black, trousers definitely…"

Juhani's purrs increased in volume slightly and Revan looked across.

"I heard that!" he muttered and turned to follow the Twi'lek to the medical bay.

Juhani opened her eyes one more time, slitted in amusement. Her serene expression slipped into a smile and she laughed quietly into the soft hum of the hold. Life was going to be very interesting, she could tell.

A few days later the Luck had finally arrived at Coruscant and hung in orbit. As Revan moved forward into the cockpit to contact orbital traffic control, three Republic fighters roared up from the atmosphere and surrounded the freighter. Sensors showed that all of the fighters were armed and all of the weapons were active and ready to shoot. He sighed and looked back to the others.

"Just out of interest, did anyone happen to ask why Dodonna actually bothered to capture this vessel?" Everyone shook his or her head and he groaned. "Thanks Carth! Okay lets get em on the comm before we're floating atoms."

He reached across to the comm panel and flicked transmit. With a crackle the comm panel shorted out and he groaned once more, rubbing a hand through his hair.

"T3 the panels shorted out, get your repair cap on and fix the thing before the trigger happy space jockeys out there decide to shoot first and ask questions later. I'll power down the engines to show we're not going to run or do anything stupid. Oh and could one of you remind me to have words with Carth? I know I asked for a ship in a very short amount of time, but giving us one which obviously has a record as long as this is ridiculous!"

T3 rumbled in from the crew lounge and, extending a probe behind the panel, began to fiddle around.

"Bleep, beep boo."

"What? Well just fix it then."

"Beep, beep, beeoop, beep"

"Oh great, so how many are actually radio parts and how many are from, well, everything else?"

"Beep, Beep."

"90 percent? Well what would you suggest we do?"

"Beep, booip beep"

"Okay fine. Re-route it through your auxiliary processor set and boost the signal, which should give us enough range… I hope."

" Crackle ontrol. Repeat, this is Coruscant traffic control. Gam… uck you are wanted for the mass transport of spice… fizz laves and dangerous animals. You are required to surrender your vessel for immediate boarding, where you will be placed under arrest."

"Carth I swear," Revan muttered, pushing his annoyance away with the force and calming himself. "Coruscant control, this is Jedi knight Revan in command of the Gamblers Luck. Admiral Dodonna has lent us this ship to apprehend ours, please call off your fighters and we'll gladly follow any course you care to plot."

"Jedi Revan? Please establish visual connection so we may verify your identity."

Revan sighed and ran his right hand through his hair once more.

"Control, Revan. I'm afraid that our comm system has taken a hell of a beating. We can't establish visual communication and to be honest, the only reason I'm speaking to you now is thanks to a T3 space droid we have on board. The whole ship's falling apart and we need to land…"

"Gamblers Luck, control. We cannot allow you free entry into Coruscant space without confirmation of your identity. This ship is wanted for breaking through ten or more blockades and the destruction of Republic property. However, we will allow you to land on a police pad as long as you follow our escort. Once down and if your identity checks out, we'll gladly help you locate your missing ship."

Revan sighed with relief and patted T3 on the head. The little droid bleeped happily and adjusted its tiny communication dish with finicky precision. Revan flipped himself into the pilot seat, grimacing at the slightly sticky fabric."

"Understood control, we're as ready as you are so get those fighters into escort and let's go. I honestly have no idea how long this thing'll stay up before gravity pulls it back down!"

A sound of laughter crackled up from the comm and the voice, which had been so cautious, came back; obviously amused.

"Okay Jedi Sir. Head to platform 3 by following fighter t564, he's flashing his exhaust now," Revan watched as one of the fighters engines flickered into a burst of flame and then died. "Do you see him Gamblers Luck?"

Revan nodded to himself and confirmed identification with Coruscant. With a flick of a switch, he set the engines of the hunk of junk they were in to minimum power. Slowly the Luck began to move forwards, the fighters guiding it down to the planet below.

Mission walked forwards into the cockpit and leaned on the back of Revan's pilot chair, watching as the huge cityscape faded into view through the clouds. Although it bore a startling resemblance to Taris, it was obvious to her eyes that Coruscant was different. The main thing she realised was the sheer hustle and bustle of people, speeders and transports on the walkways and airways around the huge skyscrapers. Revan pointed in the distance and she craned her neck to see what he was pointing out. Far away she was able to make out four thin and tall towers, brilliant white in colour, arranged in a soothing pattern. At the base was a neat arrangement of unimposing buildings.

"The grand Jedi temple and council buildings," Revan said quietly, turning to watch Mission's face. He grinned. "Somewhere I used to think was uninspiring and rather pointless, when I believed I was plain old... when I was someone else."

Mission looked down at him and smiled back, her smile fading as he turned to gaze out the window once more. Despite his joking, she could tell how much the memories of his created past hurt him. Shaking her head sadly, Mission looked out of the window and to the squat building they were descending to. The police speeders arranged around the pad they were about to land on identified the buildings use. Revan piloted in the Luck carefully, groaning slightly as one of the thrusters failed to ignite and the ship landed with a bump onto the platform, shocking the eight or so police waiting around the entrance to the landing reception.

He shut down the systems and called back to Juhani. She opened the main hatch and stood back respectfully as a lieutenant flanked by two patrolmen stepped in. As the man opened his mouth to speak however, Revan stepped into the cockpit, flanked by Mission and HK47. He paused and cleared his throat, he was sure the robot was eyeing him in a funny way.

"Who is the commander of this ship please?" he managed, turning away from the droid's steady glare."

"I am. Jedi knight Revan at your service… Lieutenant?"

"Cartina, Master Jedi. Would you mind explaining how you came to be in possession of such a ship?" He shuffled. The droid was still watching him and it made Cartina uncomfortable. "We understand you mentioned admiral Dodonna to the planet control network…"

"Yes, the admiral lent us this ship to get to Coruscant. We have a missing crewmember to find and I needed the fastest ship I could get. Dodonna gave us this one." Revan watched the policeman carefully, his force aura radiated disbelief, but grudging admiration.

"This hunk of bolts was the fastest ship the Admiral could give you? I can't believe that, I mean just look at it!"

"Statement: This ship has been massively upgraded in terms of engine power and hyperspace ability. Do not doubt the Master's word you jumped up meat…" Revan quickly slapped his hand onto HK47's back and fed a jolt of force energy into the droid, enough to make it pause for a second. Cartina looked baffled and eyed the droid apprehensively.

"Did he just call me a jumped up meat?"

Revan looked at the others and then back at Cartia, smiling politely.

"I do apologise for him, we went through an ion storm and he's been a little odd recently. I'll have him go through a data check as soon as you let us go."

Cartina frowned and then shrugged. He pulled a datacube from his belt and consulted it carefully. Revan and the others stood quietly as he did so, Revan's hand still placed firmly against HK47's back who, indignantly, remained quiet. Finally, Cartina nodded and looked at them with a smile.

"Well, it seems you are indeed Revan, I thought it was you from the holonet news but I had to be sure. Oh and master Revan?" Revan looked at him politely. "The Jedi council sent a message for you through the planetary control. I presume they knew you would be coming to Coruscant and so wanted you to know. They request that I give you this, it's private sir."

Revan frowned for a few seconds and took the proffered data wafer.

"Thanks… I take it we're free to go?" he asked, feeling desperate to find Bastila.

"Of course Master Revan. Welcome to Coruscant. Now, is there anything else that we can do for you?"

"Well as a matter of fact, yes. Could you run a check on two things for me? I need to find a ship registered as the Ebon Hawk and second I need to find one Bastila or Helena Shan. I think they're at a hospital on Coruscant but I don't know where."

"Ahh fine, I'll just run that through our computers hang on… Aha, here we go. The Ebon Hawk is currently designated landing permission on pad 42a of Shintaka Hospital. Bastila Shan… well she may be there but I do have a Helena Shan registered as a patient, but I can't get anymore data, restricted by privacy laws."

Revan looked at Mission and Juhani. Jolee walked over to him and gently whispered.

"Look lad, we'd better find out what's been going on… more importantly you and Bastila have things to discuss, important things that neither a young Twi'lek or for that matter Juhani need to listen to." He smiled sadly and winked. "And as for a crusty old fart such as myself, it'd be a bit… painful to see you two together."

Revan looked at him and smiled. He looked at the others and smiled.

"How about you and the others go and check the Hawk over. I'm going to find Bastila."

HK47 looked across at Revan and stepped back a few metres.

"Statement: I shall not leave you master. I shall accompany you to the Hospital, there is no telling how many Sith assassins may be after you. I shall be there to protect you if they try anything. That is my role as a…" He paused as Revan and the others tensed. "As a bodyguard. Such is my role."

Revan sighed inwardly and promised himself for the fourteenth time, that he would sooner or later reprogram HK's primary functions, or at least teach him to lie better."

Cartina nodded to each of them in turn and left the ship, his patrolmen following slowly so they could glimpse a final look at Revan. Jolee turned to Revan and wagged a finger.

"Looks like your destiny has made you a major hero kid. Don't let it go to your head though!"

Juhani nodded and looked at Revan as he sighed shaking his head.

"Yes, you must resist any pride in your achievements… for pride can lead to the darkside."

Jolee snorted and glanced at the Cathar with a sly smile.

"No. I just don't want him being smug for the next few weeks." Juhani frowned and shook her head and he sighed. "Look Juhani, young Revan there may be many things, but a big head he's not. He came damn close to losing someone he's linked to. Believe me, that can make pride the last thing you think of."

Revan, annoyed, cleared his throat and they looked at him, embarrassed.

"Could you possibly stop talking as though I'm not here? For your information I've no intention letting anything go to my head," Juhani opened her mouth and Revan looked at her, she shut it quickly. "And yes I'm well aware that I've got to be on guard with my emotions thank you. Now if you don't mind can we find the ship and my lover? Or would you care to discuss my emotional attachments for a few hours more?"

Jolee looked away, trying not to laugh and Revan ignored the sniggering from Mission. Turning to the hatch he stepped out, HK47 close behind, and the others followed.

Continued in Chapter one: part 5


	5. Revenant:Chapter1:part five

Chapter one, part five.

Juhani hissed slightly under her breath as they stepped off the police cruiser they had hitched a lift with. She looked around, her yellow eyes widening at the sight of all the people wandering around. Always uncertain of herself in large groups, she felt hackles rise on the back of her neck. Revan sensed the change in her aura immediately and he turned with a calming look. She nodded at the unspoken question and gripped her uneasiness with her emotional control. Slowly, she felt her discomfort slip away and she sighed, relived. Revan touched her slightly on the shoulder and she smiled at him with a nod.

Looking up, Revan stared at the huge silvery spire of the Shintaka hospital and stopped walking. The others watched as he closed his eyes for a few seconds and reached out slowly, into the bond. He smiled as he felt Bastila's presence flitter into his mind, the smooth textures of who she was, shining like a beacon. He pulled back slowly, as she seemed ignorant of his presence.

"She's up there Juhani. I can feel her. Look, you and the others go to the docking stations and find the Hawk," He looked up at the spire. "I'm going up there."

The others broke off from him inside the main foyer and while he took a turbolift up to the fifth floor, they went down. He stepped off the lift and smoothly walked across to the reception desk neatly centred in the immaculately polished hallway. A young nurse watched him approach and her eyes flitted to the red droid carefully watching her and everything else in the room. She smiled at him.

"Hello, may I help you master Jedi?" She asked, her fingers locating the panic button just in case. "Do you need medical attention? Or are you looking for someone?"

Revan smiled at her and leaned on the desktop.

"Yes. I would like to know which room Helena Shan is in please."

"Are you a relative?"

"Well no. But I am… friends with her daughter, who I understand is also here."

"And the name of Mrs Shan's daughter master Jedi?"

"Bastila Shan. I know she's here by the way," The nurse looked at him quizzically and he smiled. "Jedi senses you know."

"Well, as much as I have great respect for Jedi's sir, I cannot let you see Mrs Shan unless you are a relative. I can page her room and see if she'll let you visit?"

"Yes please."

The nurse pressed a few buttons and Revan looked around as she did so. The hospital was well funded and the obvious reason hung over the door, a plaque bearing the symbol for incurable disease. The nurse chose that moment to turn back. She smiled.

"Well it seems that Mrs Shan is happy to see you, go right on up. She's on the forty second floor, room six b." She looked at Revan and a trace of sadness slipped into her face. "She's a lovely woman when you get to know her, it's not fair really."

Revan nodded and thanked her. He walked across to the patient access turbolift and stepped in, HK47 right behind him, as the nurse opened the doors. They waited patiently, HK47 ever watchful for assassins hidden in the roof and sides of the car. The doors eventually slid open on to a brightly-lit corridor with glass doors lining it every few metres along. Revan stepped out and walked briskly down the corridor, glancing at each door number as he did so. Eventually he reached six b and looked in.

Helena Shan sat propped up in bed and smiled at him. She waved her hand at him to come through and pressed a button on the bedside table. The door slid silently open and he motioned for HK to remain outside. HK nodded, unusually quiet for once, and assumed position outside the door. Revan looked in once more and stepped into the room.

"Hello, nice to see you again." Helena whispered with a smile and pointed at a bunk against the wall. Revan looked over and smiled himself, a sigh escaping his lips as he saw the young woman lying on the bunk. Bastila; her young face passive, lay curled in a foetal position in the middle of the bunk, the blankets tucked tightly around her as she slumbered.

"My daughter's had little sleep for the past few days, don't wake her." Helena whispered to him and Revan nodded. He sat in the chair she motioned at and looked at her quizzically.

"So how is everything Mrs Shan. More importantly how are you?" He asked quietly.

Helena smiled and put down the datapad she's been reading quietly. She looked at the young man sitting in the chair and felt her interest rise. His face was tired, as tired as her daughter was. She sighed. Unsurprising really, considering what they'd both been through, what little she'd wormed out of Bastila anyway.

Especially for him though, it wasn't everyday that you found you had been the most wanted man in the galaxy, destroyed a weapons factory and… and. She looked over at her daughter and sighed again. Not everyday that you had to face someone you thought of as a friend and who tried to kill you.

From what she'd managed to wrangle from her daughter, Helena knew that the young man had been instrumental in bringing Bastila back from this darkside the Jedi all talked about. She'd wanted to know more about what happened, but Bastila had clammed up about how she'd been turned and also how Revan had brought her back. With him in front of her, maybe she could have some answers at last.

"I'm fine young man. Well, as fine as can be when you've got an incurable disease. The five hundred credits Bastila gave me was enough to get me a room here, and enough painkillers to keep me comfortable."

Revan shifted uncomfortably and looked at Helena with regret.

"So, there's no cure for your illness still? Are you sure?"

Helena smiled sadly and glanced once more to ensure Bastila was asleep.

"Not really. The doctors tell me that it's progressed too far for standard drugs to do anything for me." She looked at him, weighing his trust, and shrugged. "The only other thing that could save my life is a rare and experimental synthetic. I can't even say the name, but needless to say it's so new that the cost for a single treatment is prohibitive. The advantage would have been that I'd have a eighty percent chance of recovery."

Revan frowned and looked at her.  
"So why not tell Bastila about it?"

"Don't you dare! She'd do everything to save me. I can't tell her about this drug, she'd bankrupt herself trying to find enough credits to give it to me! None of the legal banks would give her the money, a waste of time to even try. I won't have her in debt to disreputable crime lords either! Please, if you care about her as much as I do don't tell her. Just… just let her have this time with me. We've caught up on so much and I've got so little time left."

"Okay. But… how much would you need?"

"Oh no, I'm not having her friends getting into debt either!"

Revan looked away to the slumbering figure. He felt embarrassed.

"Is that what she said we were? Just good friends."

Helena smiled knowingly and nodded.

"Oh yes. Just good friends, she said," Helena grinned. "She never was a good liar, even as a child. It was always the same when she'd raided the sweet jar. So young man, what exactly does good friends mean in relation to you and my daughter?"

Revan looked at Helena and felt his cheeks redden. He'd faced down Bastila herself, Malak and master Vandar. Now, with Bastila's mother in front of him, he found himself speechless. He looked at her knowing face, her compassionate smile. It made it far worse to explain. He looked away, out of the window and cleared his throat. It'd gone dry.

"I… We… She and I are… Well, I wanted her to," He took a deep breath and looked back at Helena. "I… I wanted her to be my lover, but she wanted to wait until after we'd completed our mission. Then she got abducted by Malak, trying to save me of all things, and turned to the darkside. I… I had to face her down, actually had to fight her." He looked over at the sleeping figure. "I would have done _anything_ to save her, anything!"

"Even take her life?" Helena whispered suddenly… a strange look in her eyes. "Oh, she told me about how she joined your enemy, joined the Sith. If… if she'd been lost to this darkside, twisted and evil, would you have taken her life away from her?"

Revan looked at her, a deep knot in his stomach throbbing as he looked at the woman who'd given birth to the woman he loved. The answer came form his heart, unable to keep it back.

"To save her from a life of darkness and self destruction? Oh yes, I'd have taken it away, so she could find peace in the force. I'd have struck with all my love," He leaned into the chair and closed his eyes. "She'd never have felt a thing."

Helena watched him for a second and felt tears at the edges of her eyes. Brushing them back she cleared her throat, watching as Revan's muscles tightened ever so slightly.

"I see. That answers many of my questions, yes many of them." He opened his eyes and she favoured him with a smile. "I've been around a lot young man. The job Bastila's father and myself had was dangerous. We both made a pact that if one of us was ever hurt too badly to make it back, the other should help in any way possible. Luckily it never came to that, so I never had to test my resolve." She looked at Bastila and felt relief creep over her. "You did, and luckily you managed to save her before you had the terrible duty… That's love young man. The ability to do anything for the person you love. And you _do_ love her, don't you."

Revan nodded and sighed as a weight slipped from him. He looked at Helena's face and smiled sadly

"I love her with all my heart and I think, no I _know_ she feels the same way. A Jedi shouldn't love though, it's a core concept in being a Jedi, so that leaves me and her in a bind Mrs Shan. If the council tries to separate us, what do I do? I can't just carry on as though nothing happened. It'd destroy her… and me too.

"You do what you think is right Revan. I'm sure that whatever you choose, you'll do so wisely. You have a certain, look about you. Whatever you decide… Take care of her. Despite everything she is, how strong my daughter can be, she has a fragile and easily breakable heart," She paused and looked at him. "Did she tell you how she was turned to the darkside?"

"No. I tried to find out just before the victory celebrations, but she didn't say anything. She just slipped off to the Ebon Hawk."

Helena sighed.

"So, so like her father. Independent and headstrong," She grinned slightly. "The stubbornness and pride? That comes from me," A chuckle escaped from Revan at that and Helena smiled. "You have to make her open up to you. She likes to think she's totally independent, and strong enough to bear anything that happens to her. She's wrong though and she'll need your help… need it terribly in the coming days. Not only to cope with what happened on that temple she told me about, but also when I go."

Revan looked at Helena and frowned.

"You never did tell me how much you needed to get the treatment."

"Oh? Well, I suppose you're bright enough to realise how impossible it would be to make or borrow that much," She sighed and looked at him. "The cost of a treatment is pointless for me to tell you. I need a whole course or it won't work. So, the current cost of a course is 10,000 credits."

Revan sat back and nodded.

"As you can see," Helena whispered. "I can't let Bastila know about this. She'd tear herself apart trying to find the money. I think that she regrets all the years we hated one another, as do I."

Revan looked at Bastila and sighed. He knew how hard it had been for her to reconcile things with Helena, now the galaxy was playing a terribly cruel trick. As he pondered over what Helena had told him, Bastila's aura twitched violently. As he felt it in the force, so Helena saw it on the bunk. Bastila writhed on the mattress and jerked her head from side to side, a whimper escaping her lips. Helena sighed and Revan saw the woman's face crease with worry.

"Oh dear. Not another one Bastila… What's the matter this time?"

Revan looked across at her, concern in his face.

"Has she been like this much?" He asked feeling Bastila's terror and guilt flow along their bond, caught as she was in her nightmare.

"She's had a few nightmares like this. I hate them, they make her so pale and tired. But, what can I do? She won't talk about it and I can't go into her mind and see what's bothering her so…" She looked at him suddenly and raised her eyebrows. He knew what she was thinking and he nodded slowly. "You can…"

"Well, We shared visions of my past life…" He paused at the look she gave him. "Don't ask. But if we could both see those, I think I may be able to see her dreams."

Walking across to her jerking form, Revan placed a hand gently onto her forehead. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He could feel the bond between them, almost see it in his mind… but despite knowing how it had been formed, it remained a mystery to him, as it did to Bastila and the Jedi masters. He remembered how it had felt, when she had been in his dreams, when he had envisioned the star-maps. With a deep breath he tried to slip into that state once more and felt the room darken. A feeling passed over him, something new, yet familiar…

A memory… or a dream?

"_Please," The young woman murmured, shaking in terror at the glint in Bastila's eyes.. "Please don't kill me Jedi, I... I don't want to die_."

"What? Who's going to kill you? _Who_ are you?"

"_I didn't want to be tortured, life can be cruel_,"

Revan looked around, disorientated, and realised in surprise that he was standing in the temple on Rakatan. All the detail was hazy however, and it took him a few moments for him to remember where he was, a dream world in Bastila's mind. It was both amazing and discomforting to know he and she could do this. He looked around in disbelief as Bastila's nightmare played out around him.

Bastila stood looking at a young woman in a Sith uniform, red sabre blade poised in front of her to strike. In this dream world, the air shivered as her shadow, so very much alive, seemed to lead every movement. Revan shivered slightly and seeing her face recognised the look in her eyes. It was the same as he had seen when they had fought on the Starforge.

"_Y...you're a Jedi. All life is sacred, p... please don't kill me_."

"_Not good enough_!"

Revan reeled in shock as Bastila sliced the sabre across the woman's arms, laughing at her cry of agony. The woman fell onto the floor, moaning in pain at the cauterised wounds slicing her wrists. Malak began to clap and cheer, egging her on like some sports star. Bastila knelt down close to her ear and Revan felt sick as he watched this twisted version of her whisper.

"_I'll give you another chance to live, try again. Why should I spare you_?"

"_P... please, show me mercy and I'll do anything you want. Anything I'll be your servant for the rest of my life, only please... spare me_."

Revan watched Bastila stand and felt compelled to do something, anything.

"Don't, don't kill her. I'm coming Bas, I am!"

The dream Bastila ignored him, as did everyone else. He watched the terrible past unfurl, watched what haunted her still.

"_Well, I'm flattered that you'd give me your worthless life, but letting you live would be an act of mercy_." The woman's eyes widened in horror. "_As the Sith code states, there's nothing worse than mercy, is there? So why would I bother with it and with you_?"

She stood and, even as the woman had cried out to Malak, spun on her heel and stabbed backwards with the red blade. Revan had turned away at that point and tried not to vomit as the scream echoed around the chamber. A gentle flump was all that was left as the lifeless body slipped onto the stone. Revan looked up in shock as hundreds of blood red ribbons cascaded from the ceiling and Sith soldiers walked cheering around the corner bearing drink and plates of food. He shook his head, the death had to have been real, and this was obviously part of the dream. He looked at Bastila as she stared down, stared at the slumped figure. She was oblivious to the party going on around her. Revan felt he should say something, even though he knew she wouldn't hear him.

"Bastila, is that what he did to you? How he turned you… What you did to her made you fall?"

The dream Bastila looked up for the first time at his voice and sighed.

"_Oh yes… I need to be punished for this you know. I did a terrible thing_."

"Why did you strike her down?"

"_Out of anger, fear to be truthful. She was very gifted in torture, I've never felt such physical pain in my life, especially when she used stims to keep me conscious. I killed her to stop her ever doing it again. But it was wrong, and I have to pay the price_."

The temple melted away and Revan found himself as a council member at Coruscant. Clad in robes of justice and sitting in one of the council chairs. Bastila lay in the centre of the room, robe torn, hair a mess and hands bound with archaic chains. Her eyes were red and puffy as tears fell onto the floor, her incessant sobbing the only sound filling the chamber. Revan looked around, none of the other council members seemed moved. He turned to his right, and saw in shock that the head of the council in her dream, was the woman she'd murdered in anger.

"_We will now pass judgement on this worthless woman_." The woman ordered smugly and looked around the room. "_I remind the council that a majority count of guilty will mean instant death_."

The heads nodded, all except Revan's, and the woman turned to Bastila, cold contempt in her eyes.

"_Guilty_." She announced a vicious smile playing over her lips.

"_Guilty_." Another council member, this one a Sith, announced loudly.

So it went on around the room. Every single member proclaimed her guilt and with each one Bastila sobbed harder and harder. The final count came to Revan and the woman looked at him with a sneer.  
"_You are the last. Don't let your love blind you to what she did! She struck me down in anger and hatred. She is no Jedi! Not even worth your acknowledgement, let alone your love. The fact of her love for you is also one of her capital crimes. How can she be a Jedi and love you? So she chose love, she wasn't afraid… But she's guilty, guilty of that and so much more! So choose_!"

Revan looked at her and frowned.

"This is a dream. You were her torturer when Malak took her prisoner."

"_Don't be silly. This is a meeting of the council of Coruscant. Stop being a fool and choose_." The woman smiled suddenly, dropping her pretext and grinned cruelly at him. "_I was an innocent and she struck me down_!"

"You were anything but innocent! You tortured her!"

"_Maybe, but she struck me down in anger, what kind of a Jedi is she_? _She has no peace, no centre of being. A true Jedi would never have been corrupted!"_

Revan got up and walked across to the woman who looked at him angrily. He reached down to her uniform and yanked the zip down. In the centre of her breast bone a neat puncture mark, cauterised and exposing the damage beneath."

"Fine. You're her guilt in this… I can see that. You tortured her until she couldn't take it anymore. Striking you down may have pushed her further along the darkside but you sent her there first." He snorted. "I vote not guilty."

Bastila looked up at that and held her hands out for him to see, they dripped blood. At the same time, the wound in the woman's chest began to spill blood down her tunic.

"_I have her blood on my hands, I killed her and with that I gave up everything I am. Without that what am I? I have you, I love you… but then I almost killed you on the forge. I… I don't deserve your love and certainly no compassion_!"

Revan felt her agony, at the terrible things she'd done. Felt the guilt and shame that she'd been trying to block from him since he'd saved her on the Starforge. He sighed and turned to her.

"I forgive you. I'll be sure to tell you that when you wake up."

She looked at him, shocked and he smiled at her. Feeling the nightmare begin to unravel due to his interference, he made a decision. She deserved a peaceful sleep. He reached into her mind and with the same instinctive ability, soothed her mind until a calmer sleep slipped into place. Pulling back his own mind from the link, he felt a strange sensation run through him as awareness of the physical world slid back.

Reality 

Revan's eyes fluttered open and he looked down at Bastila's peaceful frame as the bond slid back into his subconscious, her soothed mind slumbering on. Helena watched with anxiety.

"How long was I gone?" He asked her.

"A few minutes. What happened? Did… did you actually see her dreams? Is it possible for a Jedi to do that?"

He ran a hand through his hair and looked at her, Helena was leaning forward, her face a picture of anxiety. He took a moment to centre himself and nodded.

"I saw… I saw what happened to her when she slipped to the darkside. She… she killed a woman in anger, the woman had tortured her and she struck her down with hatred! She thinks she should be punished for doing that, and also, I think for loving me. It's against everything she was taught to believe as a Jedi. It was all a mess, as my dreams often are."

He looked down at Bastila's peaceful face and frowned as he put two and two together.

"So that's why Vandar sent me the message when we got here, and why you left without me… didn't you."

Helena looked confused, at both him and then to her sleeping daughter.

"What message? Who's Vandar? You said she was tortured, who by, for how long. Was that what made her fall to this darkside you Jedi always talk about?"

Revan heard the horror in her voice as she stared at her daughter's face. Knew that her instinct was to try and heal the hurt.

"The message is for me, it's about something the council has been requested to discuss. As for the torture I mentioned," He watched Helena's face pale and felt terrible. "Yes she was tortured for at least a week by the woman she eventually killed. It was this that helped turn her to the darkside."

Helena looked at him sickly, only then realising how dangerous being a Jedi was for her daughter.

"She' been through a lot, a hell of a lot more than she told you… more than she told me for that matter. I think she's trying to protect me and at the same time wanted to protect you."

"Why?"

"Well, you're her mother, it's only natural she wouldn't want you to know what happened to her. As for me…" He looked at her, his own guilt ripping past his emotional control. "All of this was my fault, and I refuse to let Bastila take any blame for what happened,"

He felt Bastila stir in her sleep, and looked at Helena.

"She's waking up. Not a word about what I did."

"Oh, my lips are sealed, I promise. If I tell her any of this she'll either think I'm mad or worse yell at you. Neither I want to happen, be honest. After all, someone's going to have to look after her." Helena looked at him. "Mind you, I can see now why you look so tired. It's not just what happened on the Starforge between you is it? You've had something happen to you too."

Revan ached to tell someone, anyone about how he felt, but he drew back nonetheless. Now was not the time, especially telling someone who was the mother of the person he was trying to hide his own guilt and pain from.

A sigh from the bunk made him look over as Bastila's eyes slowly fluttered open, he slipped quietly further into the corner of the room behind her and watched as she sat up. With a yawn, Bastila looked at Helena with tired eyes, she hid her torment poorly.

"How long was I asleep for?"

"A few hours dear, nothing more. You didn't miss much… They took some blood, gave me a slightly larger shot of painkillers, but I'm fine, still breathing."

"Don't joke mother please, not about this! I… I can't believe that after all the time I despised you, we've got so little left when I want to be with you." Bastila despondently toyed with her Lightsabre, so carefully tucked under the pillow. "Do they, do they know how…"

"How long I have left?" Helena sighed and padded the bed with her hand and Bastila slowly slipped across to sit next to her. She took her daughters hand and squeezed it tightly. "A few weeks dear. But, that's enough for you and me to say everything we need to. You know how proud I am, especially of your choice of young man."

Bastila looked at her mother in surprise and smiled sadly.

"I never could hide anything from you could I? Even as a child you always knew when I'd been up to no good. How did you know Revan was my… that he and I…"

"Because Bass, someone told her." Revan said quietly, watching as she span on the bed to look at him with shock. He felt her delight at seeing him flow down the bond, mingled with reluctance and apprehension. "I missed you at the party and I missed you when I came here. Why'd you leave me on Rakatan?"

"I… how did you find? Th… this is a personal matter. I… I didn't think you'd want to be with me while I visited mother. It's not going to be a happy time around here and you've seen enough sadness for a lifetime." She lied to him, hoped he would accept it. But, she watched as his eyes narrowed, he knew… the bond between them exposed any lie for what it was. "I also have, other matters to attend to. Important ones."

She looked away from Revan and closed her eyes_. "Please don't ask what, please… I have to do this alone, I have to!" _She thought, feeling his reluctance. And also… something else, determination over something he knew. He couldn't know what she was going to do… did he? She looked into his soft eyes and swallowed, by the force he was imposing when he looked at her like that, looked into her soul. She snorted at her own words, nothing there but darkness and guilt now, but still he watched her with those dark eyes and, secretly, she wanted him to.

"Mother, I suppose you know now then that Revan and myself we…" she paused, thinking of a way to explain it that wouldn't sound silly, turning to her mother as she did so. Helena's face however was fixed on the glass door to her room. Bastila looked around to see a young man, face sweating, pressed against the glass. He held an archaic paper envelope in one hand and looked apprehensively at them all. Revan frowned and then his eyes widened in understanding.

"Oh damn!"

Walking quickly, he pulled the door open and shook his head.

"Damn it HK! Let him go."

"Statement: Master, this meatbag claims to have a message for you. When I asked him to give it to me, he became quite insistent that he should deliver it by hand. When I asked him to wait until I could ask you for instructions he attempted to force his way past me. I calculate a five percent chance he is a Sith assassin and the envelope is a small bomb. May I have your permission to vaporise him?"

"No let him go!" Revan snapped, looking at the messengers panicked face. "Your job is a Bodyguard now, that means you keep them out, politely! It doesn't mean slapping them against the door like a criminal.

"Supplication: Sorry Master, I shall release him at once. But," HK let go of the man who gasped a bit and glared at the droid… until HK looked down, his red eyes flashing. "I think he should know that have my eyes on him, just in case!"

The messenger cleared his throat and stood up, brushing himself down as he did so. Ignoring the threatening red droid next to him, he turned to the mildly amused Helena and Bastila inside the room.

"Padawan Bastila Shan?" He asked pointedly. She nodded and he held out the envelope. "You are to come to the Jedi council in the next two hours. Your… mistake and its consequences will be discussed at that time. However, they would like you to be aware that this meeting is quite unusual and will require further deliberation on your part."

Bastila held the envelope gently, but made no move to open it. The messenger nodded, and turning to avoid the looming droid walked quickly out. Helena looked at her daughter with puzzled eyes and she opened her mouth, a question forming on her lips. Bastila however, spoke before she could say anything.

"Mother I… I have to go and see them." She turned and smiled at her, Helena saw the slight tinge of fear and regret in her eyes but chose to say nothing. "I'm sure it'll be quick and when I come back I'll have plenty of time to spend with you."

Revan watched quietly and knew exactly what she meant by that last sentence. Shaking his head he moved back inside. He had to get ready as well, Vandar had arranged everything, and it was up to him to stop a terrible mistake, no matter how well intentioned.

"Well, I've got to go and see the others, they're going over the Hawk, " Bastila blushed and he smiled at Helena. "I'll go and give them a hand and leave you two to whatever you were doing. Oh Bastila, I hope I'll see you back on board before dinner? I've heard good things about an Ithorian restaurant and thought I'd take you to dinner."

Bastila blushed at her mother's grin and, fiddling with her Lightsabre nodded. Helena's smile faded as she looked at her daughter and looking up at Revan, cast a searching glance at him. "_What's going on?_" she urged, the summons to the council had disturbed her greatly.

He held up a hand in supplication and shook his head slowly at her. Helena frowned, and then reluctantly nodded at him.

"Well I've got to go. See you later Bastila…" He paused at the door and looked back at her. "I love you."

Bastila blushed and looked up. She could feel his concern for her and with an inward sigh, made an effort to calm it. Even as she looked at him Bastila felt her mother watching them, bad enough she knew they were an item. The last thing she'd wanted was for her mother to realise just how much she needed Revan, unsure if she'd approve. With a sigh, she looked up at him and murmured.

"I love you too Revan, I… I'll see you later on at the Hawk and we can…we can talk about our future, if you like."

He nodded and walked out of the room, feeling Bastila's eyes follow him out the door. Her guilt and sorrow had been assaulting him while she had talked, doubling in strength when the summons to the council had been given. Coupled with his own it was almost… almost. No, he had to help her! He had to keep his own problems under control. He had… For a second he felt his own guilt and despair threaten to overwhelm him. Struggling, he swayed against the wall of the hospital and felt dizzy.

"Statement: Master, are you all right?"

HK watched as Revan groaned and clutched his head. HK's sensors picked up massive stress levels and he worried for his master. Unable to assist, medical info not being programmed into his database, HK stood helplessly on guard as Revan shivered against the wall.

"No! I… I can handle this I can!" He whispered as terrible feeling of worthlessness ripped through him. "For her, for Bastila I have to… Peace, there is peace! I am Revan. I'm not a puppet… I… I"

"_I don't know how you keep going, this must be an even bigger shock to you than it is us_."

Carth's face looking concerned and suspicious.

"_We had no choice, your mind was too badly damaged_."

Bastila, guilt and pain in her voice as he struggled to face the truth.

"_I have pledged myself to Malak and the darkside_."

Her terrible beauty, as she stood there anger bubbling inside her.

"_I could never love anyone as weak as you_."

"No, I have to hold on… I…" He concentrated. "There is no chaos, there is harmony."

He shivered and his Jedi controls slipped back in place. Slowly he began to feel better as they clamped down. He had to help Bastila and then, maybe then he could deal with his own problems… before they destroyed him.

The council would meet with the both of them, whether Bastila wanted them to or not.

Continued in Chapter 2-Regrets and conspiracies.


	6. Revenant:chapter2:Regrets and conspiracy

(Writers note. Okay, I deal with the bond slightly in this chapter. Some may disagree, some may like what I've done. It's been the hardest part so please if you disagree with how I've done this, please persevere past it. Personally I like it, but then I wrote it. Enjoy.) 

Part2- regrets and conspiracies 

Coruscant, the Jedi council's Temple spire 

Bastila looked up at the vastly tall spire of the Jedi enclave on Coruscant. She had never actually been here before, she'd been too vital to the war effort and so had been kept busy on the front or guarded at Dantooine, where they could deploy her at a moments notice.

The spire stretched to the clear blue-sky, gleaming with a brilliant white in the warm sun. The grounds were flush with various green leafy plants, soft blooms and light scents. Fountains cascaded clear blue water into shallow bowls with a gentle platter. Bastila sighed, she wished she could stay out here for a little longer and absorb the peace of the gardens. Around her, Jedi's of various skill and ages wandered around, going about their business. Despite the obvious, yet quiet, bustle of the grounds, Bastila felt many eyes light on her in recognition. She wondered if it was due to her history of Battle meditation and the lives she'd saved, the 'death' of Darth Revan or now the fact that she'd fallen to the darkside and had been redeemed by the man she'd set out to vanquish.

Looking back up at the temple spire, Bastila felt a brief wave of anxiety at what awaited her at its tip. The surrounding temple grounds smelt fresh and the calming sound of water helped her relax however and she blew out a breath.

"What happens, happens. I will accept the council's will." She paused and sighed slightly. "Whatever that may be and despite how Revan may feel about it…"

Composed, Bastila walked gently up the steps towards the republic guards at the main entrance. As she approached one of the guards looked up and straightened to a parade stance.

"Yes, Master Jedi. May I help you?"

Bastila handed across the envelope and with it the summons to the council. The guard read the letter inside and looked up at her with a smile.

Ah, yes. Well, the council hasn't convened yet. They asked all those requested to come to this meeting that they wait in conference room two." The other two have arrived before you Master Jedi and are also waiting there for them."

Bastila frowned and looked questioningly at him.

"What others? I assumed that they wanted to see my on my own."

"I wouldn't know, Master Jedi. I'm not privy to why they ask people to come to the council. I was informed to direct all people coming for this meeting, to conference room two. Sorry Ma'am.

"It's no problem, really. Thank you for the directions."

Stepping up she walked into the temples main foyer and glanced around, impressed by what she saw. The hallway was lined with massive pillars, each supporting a high roof in which large plastiglass windows allowed pools of light to splash on the rich red carpet. It was certainly different to the more simple surroundings of Dantooine, she thought. Various Jedi walked wandered the halls, each with their own purpose, and Bastila joined them without pause, ignoring the occasional double take of some Jedi. Walking across the huge hallway, she moved to a directions map and examined it carefully. Conference room two was on the fifth floor of the temple spire and she took a turbolift to reach it. Walking down a corridor upon its stop at the top of the main spire, she found the doorway and looked at it. The door to conference room two was neatly inset smoked plastiglass and as she stepped up to the door she noticed two blurred figures moving around inside. Taking a deep breath, Bastila opened the door.

"Hey look who it is! Long time no see, Bastila." Mission waved at her from the corner of the room, where she was investigating a food synthesiser. "It's not too bad here, nice décor and the caffa ain't too bad."

Bastila looked at her in shock and turned as the bond suddenly twitched with amusement. Revan sat on a soft sofa on the other side of the room, watching Missions fiddling with the synthesiser with a smile. He looked up at her and winked.

"She wanted to come with me, seems to think a non Jedi should be with us."

Bastila looked at him and felt the shock at his presence give way to annoyance. She placed her hands on her hips and her annoyance with him grew as he groaned, recognising her posture, feeling her irritation.

"Why are you here?" She asked and before he could speak, snapped. "I do _not_ need a chaperone! I _can_ do the occasional thing myself, you know. Just because you… we are, are bonded… does _not_ mean you can follow me around all the time."

Revan watched her finish ranting and stare at him. He opened his mouth.

"I admit that I know why you're here, Bass." She looked at him angrily and he held up a hand. "I'm also here at the councils request though. They need to talk to me about a few things that happened on and before the forge. I would have preferred however that you had told me that they wanted to see you, rather than overhear you and Vrook by accident."

She frowned and slid onto the sofa.

"I… had to do this myself. You didn't need to be here, not for me. I would have come back to you, you know that, right?" She muttered, trying to lie to him again; knew that he would do everything possible to dissuade her. "I have to answer for what I did, you do understand that?"

He opened his mouth to answer and she felt his reluctance to agree. Before he could speak however, the door slid open once more and two female Jedi gracefully walked in.

"Bastila Shan?" Bastila nodded and getting up bowed to the two of them. The female Jedi on the left looked at Revan who'd remained sat on the sofa. "Jedi knight Revan? You are both to accompany us to the council chambers."

Revan got up for the sofa and nodded. He looked across at Mission who pulled herself away from the wall and moved to come with them. The female Jedi who had addressed Bastila held up her hand.

"I'm afraid this is not for non Jedi. Please, remain here and help yourself to refreshments while your colleagues are in the chamber." Mission looked at Revan who shrugged at her, resigned. "Jedi Revan? Please come with us, you need to wear the robe adornments of honour bearer if you wish to stand with Bastila Shan."

Bastila looked at him, her head snapping round, and she narrowed her eyes. Now she could feel him she knew… he _was_ here for her. Annoyed, she turned, pushing his feeling of regret away as he tried to apologise through the bond.

Revan, upset and trying to hide it, looked at the two Jedi and nodded at them. As they left the room, Bastila walked through the door, nudging past him roughly and paying little heed to his look of regret. He sighed, turned and followed them.

The council chamber was at the tip of the main spire of the temple complex. It looked out across a large portion of Coruscant, a gorgeous view. The sun, bright that afternoon, shone through the roof to floor windows placed to allow the view to be just so admired. Arranged in the circular room, the council members of Coruscant looked up as Bastila walked into the centre. She stood, glanced around and bowed deeply… it was time.

"Masters of the council. I have answered your summons. I will abide by the will of the council in all things, no matter the cost."

She pulled herself up out of the bow and looked surreptitiously round the room. Most of the masters surrounding her she didn't know. One chair made her double take, for at first she thought Vandar had come to the council as well as Revan, but she realised that the face was different. The small alien looked up at her and smiled softly, his fingers pursed in thoughtfulness.

"Ah, Bastila. Finally we get to meet the Jedi who defeated Revan and helped to turn him to the lightside of the force, as well as providing your unique battle meditation to the Republic's war effort. It is a great honour Bastila."

She blushed and a feeling of awkwardness slipped over her. The small Jedi must know why she was here, but he obviously wanted to get off on the right foot. She shrugged; it paid to be polite.

"Thank you master?" She paused not knowing his name and the small alien smiled. He waved a hand around the room.

"I am master Vreik, current leader of the council. To the left and right of me is Jedi master Sunrider", an old, yet attractive, woman nodded with a smile, "and master Hieruk," an Ithorian inclined his head. The other Jedi are all council members, I'm sure you will be introduced to them each, sooner of later."

Bastila nodded and cast a glance around the room once more. All of the Masters seemed calm and composed except for one woman who glowered at her silently from a chair nearest the door. Vrieik watched her quietly as she looked around and once her attention slid back to him, steepled his fingers once more.

"Do you know why the council has summoned you young Padawan?" His face never left hers and she felt a brief feeling of apprehension. Clamping down with her emotional control, Bastila nodded. " Please do tell us then, it is good to know why Jedi think we have asked them to come."

"I presume, master, that you have asked me here to deal with my arrogance and stupidity, my failure as a Jedi and my fall to the darkside. I… I understand from the archives that Jedi in the past have been, corrected, when such an occurrence has happened." She looked around to see if Revan had appeared. She had to do it fast if he had, faster if he hadn't. Not seeing him there, she quickly bowed in an old form of supplication. "I am willing to face any punishment you deem fit."

The old Master frowned in surprise as he looked at her. "_I feel much guilt in her, to be expected I suppose. But its source is not what she did to herself… because of something she did to someone, her betrayal of someone else…_." He watched, as she slowly looked up, puzzled that he had not spoken. He cleared his throat.

"Punishment, young Bastila? The council called you here to answer questions, yes. But we see no need to punish you for something you could not have stopped." He watched her face twist slightly with emotion, relief followed by a… a need, he could sense it. "All we want is to ask you questions, about you and your conduct with Revan. I understand he has asked to be your honour bearer, something that has not occurred for many years in the council. Would you care to explain why?"

Bastila opened her mouth to answer but was cut off by another voice.

"I am more interested in Master Vrook's report… Bastila Shan seems to think the Jedi code does not apply to her and Revan it seems. I would like her to explain how she can be a Jedi _and_ fall in love with the so called "redeemed lord of the Sith"!"

Vreik looked across, as did she and the majority of the council members, to the angry woman in the adjacent door seat. He sighed, recognising her face and glared sternly at her.

"The council does not recognise Master Telan at this time. I ask that you wait until I have asked my questions before posing any of your own. "

He settled back and looked at Bastila. She was obviously confused, embarrassed that they knew about her relationship and, now, unsure of why she had been summoned.

"You are right in that the council has called you to Coruscant in order to ask about your fall to the darkside. However, we feel you should know that no punishment has been assigned to you, nor any blame." He watched as she opened her mouth to protest and quickly continued. "We merely wish to hear, in your own words… and now those of your honour bearer, as to why you fell to the darkside."

Bastila looked in shock at the old Jedi master and felt parts of her begin to crumble. She'd been convinced that they would discipline her, why else summon her to the council on Coruscant? She had been expecting it… almost needed it. As she struggled to cope with her own feelings, a familiar presence slipped into place next to her. Revan, sweating slightly in a set of archaic velveteen robes, looked at her with a smile and winked in supplication. She frowned, her temper rising, had he done this?

"Ah, Revan. I see you've managed to appear here at last." Vriek smiled at him, noting the sheen of perspiration on the young Jedi's face. "Would you like to remove the robes of Honour bearer? As much as we stand on ceremony, and as much as my aides have followed Jedi tradition, it is rather warm in here."

With a grateful nod, Revan gently removed the velvet robe he wore and handed it to a young Padawan standing to one side. Underneath, the starforge robes he had worn while defeating Malak glimmered in the light.

"Thank you master, it _was_ getting a trifle warm."

"Now," Vriek said looking at Revan with interest. "Master Vandar sent the message asking for you to be Bastila's honour bearer. Usually something done only for those Jedi who are incapable of handling their own defence, something Bastila seems more than capable of doing."

Revan looked across at Bastila and felt a twinge of anger slip past her emotional control, aimed for him. He looked away and reinforced his own emotional defences. Although she would be annoyed, even hate him if he did this, he couldn't let her punish herself for something he was responsible for. Even… even if it cost him the one thing keeping him going.

"Master Vandar agreed that Bastila may not," He looked at her and felt even more guilt seep into him. "May not be… sufficiently objective, when it comes to the matter of her fall to the darkside. I asked him if it would be possible to come and shoulder some of the burden."

Bastila looked at him, her mouth slipping open. He had planned to be here, had planned to be her honour bearer and she felt her anger at him grow. He had no right to stop her from submitting to the council for her own peace of mind. She'd fallen to the darkside and had revelled in it. What right did he have to try and stop her? Vriek looked across, sensing her anger and possibly the reasons for it. Turning to Revan he cocked his head.

"We have heard from Vandar about this matter, but now we would like to hear both Bastila's and your version of what happened," He looked across at Bastila who blushed at his knowing stare. "Only after we have heard about your fall from you _and_ Revan, Bastila, will we decide if any punishment, and what it will be, is deserved."

"I… you." She looked at Vreik and sighing, bowed once more. This was a mistake, she was guilty of so much, but she would abide by their decision. "I understand Master Vriek, I apologise for this unforeseen event. I had hoped not to waste too much of the council's time."

"This is no waste young Padawan, especially if Revan and master Vandar feel it needs to be done." Vreik watched Revan glance at Bastila and could feel his anxiety over her response. With a sigh he looked back. "Bastila, please tell us what happened on the Leviathan, I presume that is a good place to start yes?"

Bastila took a deep breath and steeling herself began to speak, quietly and clearly.

"We were apprehended by Admiral Saul Karath after a hyperspace jump towards the planet with the final starmap. He managed to overwhelm us and, once onboard the Leviathan, tortured me in order to extract information from Revan."

"Why you?" Master Sunrider asked quietly, looking at Bastila with gentle eyes. "I mean, if he needed to extract information from Revan, why torture you to gain it?"

Bastila looked at the old Master with a frown. If Master Telan knew that it was due to Revan's love for her, then Sunrider must know as well. Why did she want to hear it spoken by her? With a mental shrug, she looked at the old master.

"Because, master Sunrider, Saul knew that Revan and myself even then were in love with one another." She sighed and glanced over at Revan, her annoyance with him still rankled but she knew she couldn't live without him. "I regret that it gave him a pressure point to use against Revan, one he used as much as possible."

"Regret? You endangered the whole mission with your… infatuation. The code is not something you can pick up and drop at will, Bastila Shan!"

Bastila looked at Telan and saw with surprise the scowl she wore. She wondered what it was that made the Councilwoman so angry towards her, even as Vreik sighed once, loudly.

"Master Telan! I will not remind you again."

"Her emotional involvement could have meant the destruction of the Republic, if Karath had managed to pull any information from Revan it could have meant…"

"That did not happen, Master Telan," The smooth female voice of Sunrider interrupted. "I apologise, master Vreik, for bringing this up. I merely wanted to satisfy myself about something."

"And that was?" Telan asked narrowing her eyes at Sunrider, who smiled gently at Bastila's ashamed face.

"Whether this is more than an infatuation. I can see from her eyes that it is." She looked at Revan and raised her eyebrows at him. "Hmm. I wonder how close you came to telling Saul everything he wanted?"

Revan looked calmly at her, while his heart hammered at the memory.

"I understood how vital our mission was." He answered, without telling her anything.

Vreik cleared his throat and looked at the two Jedi in the centre of the room.

"Could we please continue?"

Bastila nodded.

"We managed to get free, thanks to one of our team. We fought our way to the bridge and met Karath, who after a prolonged battle, we defeated. Unfortunately, he told Carth Onasi as he lay dying, the truth about Revan. Despite this, we made our way together back to the hanger, and it is there that Malak was waiting." She paused at the memory of the dark lord standing there and a shiver passed across her spine, a legacy of her torture at his hands. "He told Revan who he really was, something that made Revan himself ask me the truth."

"And you told him?" Vreik asked quietly. She nodded.

"Well, the point of keeping the truth from him, for me at least, became pointless when he knew. I told him, well I told him just how involved I'd been in his capture," She thought back, to the look or horror and betrayal on his face and felt the guilt rip through her. "He told me that I was no better than the Sith…"

"Something I regret." Revan whispered at her. She ignored him, but felt a tiny trickle of relief slip into her.

"Malak wanted to face Revan on his own, he used the lull while we spoke to concentrate and unleash a massively powerful stasis. I cannot tell you what happened in the time I was frozen, all I know is that when it released us we could hear sabre combat on the other side of the blast door." She paused. The terror she'd felt, the fear, that Revan was being ripped apart by Malak's sabre blade… was not something they needed to know. "It was Carth who managed to get the door open, he managed to override it, but only temporarily. I… I ran through and saw Revan also frozen. Helpless, or so I thought, and Malak about to kill him."

Revan watched her face, he knew that she still blamed herself, but the agony on her face made his own guilt yank at him.

"I had to stop him, I had to." She whispered, the council forgotten. "I foolishly threw my sabre at him and it bounced off that armour he wore. All I did was make him angry, but it was enough for him to attack me instead of Revan or Carth."

Vriek leaned back and, looking at her pained expression of recall sighed.

"I know this is painful but what happened is vital for us to know."

"He… incapacitated me, knew that a few cuts on my arms and legs would paralyse me enough to take me prisoner. He shut the blast door, not anyone else or a malfunction, but him. I see now that I'd done a stupid thing. I risked the mission and gave Malak a terrible weapon to use against Revan. He was the last hope for the republic damn it and I should have been able to hold Malak back!" Her voice was racked with guilt and the council members shifted uncomfortably. "Anyway, he dragged me back to the Rakatan temple and used torture to turn me to the darkside. He thought I would prove to be Revan's undoing… but he was wrong. Revan was stronger than he, or I, thought. He managed to defeat me at the temple, despite my attempts to seduce him from the lightside."

"He resisted you?" Sunrider asked with a sad smile. "How much of your own heart was in the attempt I wonder?"

Bastila looked at Sunrider and steeling herself, she answered truthfully.

"All of it, master. I thought at the time that the council would… would take him away from me, force us apart." She watched as the entire council shifted uncomfortably and sighed. "I thought in my twisted thinking, that by turning him to the darkside we could be together forever. Be together as apprentice and lover. He was all that mattered… him, and the power I could gain being his apprentice."

She heard muttered consternation among some of them, but Vriek merely nodded.

"I see. So that leaves just one question left for us to need answered and then we can decide what punishment, if any, you deserve."

Vreik steepled his fingers and looked over them at her. She felt similar interest from the Ithorian and Sunrider.

"Why in your message to us did you request to be judged over murder young Padawan?" Vreik asked quietly and Bastila felt her guilt twist. "What murder are you implying you committed?"

"Murder?" Revan asked in shock and turned to his lover. "What the _force_ are you talking about?"

Bastila glanced at him and felt her head droop in shame. She should have told him all this back at the Hawk. She should have told him all the terrible things that were ripping at her. Now it was too late, far too late.

"I… When I was being tortured Malak used a variety of methods. Physical, electrical and finally psychological, he seemed to have a rather well developed skill with all, " Bastila smiled sickly and Sunrider's face creased in pain at her tone. "I turned from the light and fell into darkness. My fall was complete only when Malak asked, and I struck down, an innocent woman."

She finished and looked up at Vreik. He and the other council members looked concerned, and some dismayed, at what she had admitted. Sunrider watched her face and Bastila felt heat rush to her cheeks, she knew that she wasn't telling them everything.

"I see. Well, Bastila, you know that the taking off innocent life is a terrible crime. I presume this is what you wished the council to discipline you for?"

Bastila nodded and was about to kneel in readiness for her judgement when she felt Revan stride, determined, next to her. She wondered what he was doing, he had no knowledge of what she'd done there and so anything he could say would be futile. She needed to be punished, needed to release this guilt.

Revan looked down at her with compassion, his soul mate needed to release the guilt she was feeling, but not this way. It was time for him to stop this madness. He faced Vriek.

"Master, it's time for Bastila's honour bearer to speak."

Vreik nodded and looked at Bastila, she was half kneeled in supplication and staring up at Revan with shocked curiosity.

"While I agree with Bastila about events on the Leviathan, I cannot agree with her description of her torture at Malak's hands. I agree that it was brutal, and extremely effective." He looked down at her and felt his heart flutter. "I also say that the fact that she managed to resist the darkside for so long is testament to her commitment to the lightside. However, I cannot let Bastila sacrifice herself for punishment, no matter how much guilt she feels."

Vreik nodded.

"This is all very well and good young Jedi, but the council cannot condone Bastila's murder of an innocent." He looked down at her. "No matter the circumstances surrounding it. While we do not support discipline, it may be necessary in this case."

"Master Vriek I agree in principle, but Bastila has not told the whole truth to the council in this matter. I cannot explain why, except that it may be to alleviate the guilt she feels over her fall to the darkside itself, more than anything else." Bastila stared at him in horror, she could feel her punishment… something that could reduce the guilt, wash it away, beginning to slip away. "The truth of the 'murder' is that Bastila struck down the woman who had been instrumental in torturing her, something she failed to mention. While she was unarmed, she was definitely not an innocent and she _was_ a member of the Sith."

Bastila stood up, her face a picture of betrayal and confusion.

"How do you know what happened? You weren't there…You weren't there, when I needed you." She whispered quietly, so only he could hear. Revan shivered; he felt like she'd hit him with a hammer. Vreik cleared his throat and the two young Jedi looked at him.

"How, may I ask, do you know that Bastila's "innocent" victim was actually the torturer?"

Revan looked at Bastila for just a second and then closed his eyes. What he was about to say would probably anger her, but he had to tell the council, he must!

"Because, master, I have seen it." He watched Bastila's face crease for a few seconds and then her eyes widen in understanding. She looked at him and he could feel her sudden anger slam into him down the bond. "The bond she and I share allow us to do many things. One of these is the ability to share memories and… dreams."

"You stole into my mind?" Bastila blurted out. "Who the _force_ do you think you are!"

"Someone who loves you, and won't let you sacrifice yourself over something you couldn't prevent!" He whispered quietly at her. She paused in her ranting, struggling as her own various emotions slammed around inside her, bouncing off her emotional control. Revan turned to Vreik once more. "With this ability I was able to see a nightmare Bastila was having, the focus of which, was the woman she killed."

Vreik looked at Sunrider who imperceptibly pressed her lips together in thought. With a frown on his wizened face, he looked back at the two Jedi standing before him.

"This information brings a whole new perspective to the events you wished us to discuss Padawan Shan." She looked around at him, her eyes wild. "The council will require time to decide what will happen. Please, we ask that you wait back in the conference room with your companion… Mission is her name yes? Revan, please remain, we need to ask you a few questions and I understand you wish to ask us some as well."

"Yes, master, I do. Thank you." He said quietly, his eyes never wandering from Bastila's face, from the shocked anger rippling in her eyes. Vreik watched them for a few seconds and then cleared his throat.

"Padawan Shan?"

She looked at him and opened her mouth.

"You can't… I mean he doesn't," She paused and a feeling of defeat swept over her. "I… I will return to the conference room Master, but I…"

"Thank you Padawan, the council will discuss this now." Vreik reaffirmed gently. With a sigh of defeat, Bastila slowly walked towards the door, glancing angrily at Revan as she did so.

"_I want to talk to _you_ Revan. You and I have _much_ to discuss_!" she thought down the bond at him.

"_I know_," He sent back. "_I know you're angry Bastila but try to calm down. I'll be back soon."_

Bastila walked quietly and with dignity out of the council room and Revan sighed with relief, even though her anger at him flowed still, down the bond and into him like liquid. The effort to control his own emotional baggage was becoming harder, but he had enough control at that moment to push away and ignore the assault from Bastila's own fluctuating emotional state.


	7. Revenant:chapter2:part two

Revenant: chapter 2: part 2

"So, Revan, I understand that the so called prodigal knight has questions for the council." Telan snapped from her seat, as soon as the click of the door echoed in the chamber. "We have many for you as well. The first is what the force you were thinking when you fell in love with Bastila? You know the code as well as she! Emotion, especially love, cannot be allowed for us Jedi!"

Revan looked at Telan with disdain. He felt the council's own discomfort with the Jedi master but also with him as well. Vreik opened his mouth and Revan heard the resignation in his voice.

"Master Telan, for the last time I will not…"

"Master Vreik?" Revan interrupted and the old master turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "If you will permit me I am quite happy to answer master Telan's question."

Vreik nodded and settled back into the chair, despite himself he too was interested. Revan cleared his throat and turned to Telan with a calm expression.

"I did not ask to fall for Bastila, master Telan. When we first met I have to say she was one of the most irritating and self-opinionated people I'd ever met. However it was the bond between us, the recognition of it as we trained as Jedi, that changed my opinion." He paused and smiled in memory. "She was so helpful to me during those difficult times and also so honest. I couldn't help it. The bond pulled us close, closer than I ever thought was possible and I… I found myself thinking about her all the time. She was so wonderful, so easy to irritate, so compassionate. Despite her arrogance, something I realise was to protect herself from me, I could feel her… her soul through the bond we share. Despite her own self control, she felt it too and, well, it seemed that the force wanted it."

Telan sat back in shock.

"The force? You think that the force desired you and Bastila to become lovers?" She snorted and waved a hand around the room. "See? What arrogance! To think that the force would bring two such powerful Jedi together, so that they could fall in love."

Revan frowned and felt his ire grow at her scornful tone. About to snap back at her, he was surprised to hear a soft female voice interject.

"Arrogance, master Telan? There is plenty of that already being shown in this chamber." Telan rankled at her tone and Sunrider smiled slightly at the Jedi master. "Once again you attack Revan and Bastila for falling in love, Telan, but tell me have you ever felt it yourself? Love can be powerful, so very powerful and overwhelming. We cannot forget that it was Revan's love for Bastila that brought her back to the light."

"And possibly sent her to the dark in the first place." Telan countered, her voice heated. "She acted rashly, foolishly due to the emotion she was feeling. If she and Revan had not fallen in love with one another, Bastila could have acted to the situation in a calm and collected manner. As it is, she stupidly sacrificed herself to save him, only to give Malak our most powerful weapon, her battle meditation!"

Revan looked at her with distaste and stepped up to the chair she sat in.

"Bastila is a person! Not a weapon or a tool you think you own or can use! She has been through hell and back to do what you asked her, lied to the person she loved and submitted to the most terrible tortures Malak could probably conceive. I would remind you, Telan, that she has as much right to her own feelings as you obviously do!"

"How dare you!" she snapped at him, even as he struggled to pull his anger back, the other council members flinching at the raw emotion swirling around the chamber. Vreik opened his mouth to restore calm, but Sunrider gently placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. "You would do well to remember where you are young Jedi! I am a master of the council and I will not be spoken to in that manner!"

Revan felt all the anger he'd bottled upon finding out that the council had wiped his mind, claw at his emotional controls. It came so close, so very close to breaching them but he fought back, his body shivering slightly under the strain. With a deep breath he stood back and centred himself, felt its effects soothe and heal the fractures in his barrier. But, for a fleeting second, he felt Bastila suddenly touch his mind in concern. He slipped defences in her path and her searching mind slipped back empty handed.

"You, and for that fact the entire council, are fine people to lecture me on what I should or should not do." He said in a chill voice, obviously controlled tightly. "After all we've been through together, you actually think I care if you will permit me to remain with Bastila or not? I love her and there's nothing you could do or say to stop me being with her!"

"We could split you up, move you to separate areas of our control!" Telan said, grinning as he flinched slightly. "I would very much like to do this actually, we do not need more difficulties at the moment with disobedient Jedi."

"If you do that," Revan said quietly, looking at her. "It will destroy Bastila, me too. If you even suggest that again." He turned to the entire council and his face was hard. "I will reject everything you have tried to teach me and leave, with Bastila if she desires it!"

"Revan, we have no desire at this time to prevent your union with young Bastila." Telan opened her mouth but Vreik held up a hand sharply, he had to defuse this situation and fast. "Telan, you do not dictate policy of the council. It will be decided in due course, however."

Revan breathed a sigh of relief and Telan snorted. With a sigh, Vreik addressed the council.

"We cannot ignore what master Sunrider has openly stated. Despite the code, the only thing that saved Bastila from the darkside was the love she had for Revan, it brought her back despite Malak's influence. The ways of the force are mysterious, even to one as old as I. I will not be one to interfere with any plan that it has for Revan or Bastila. The other council members would do well to heed me."

Telan scowled and sat back in her chair, radiating disapproval as the others nodded. Revan sighed inwardly with relief and looked at Vreik with a penitent smile.

"Now, if you have finished, may I ask a question?" He asked, looking around the room. Vreik nodded and Revan cleared his throat. "_Here we go…_"

"I would like to ask the council about the force discipline used to erase Revan's personality and memory from my mind."

Master Hieruk shifted in his chair and tilted his head at Revan.

" We did not do any such thing Jedi Revan. The council on Dantooine made the choice. We have no knowledge of the rite they used to perform such an act. "

Revan sighed and looked at him. He could feel the tender ground he trod on. The council would probably see any desire to find out about the Revan he used to be as a bad sign. With a deeper sigh he soldiered on, he had to know.

"Masters of the council, I realise that it was Dantooine's council that decided to wipe my mind. However, I can also make the logical assumption that it wasn't taken without consulting you first. I know you must have had a hand in the decision." He watched as a few of them looked at each other, slight signs of guilt passing across their faces. "I've no desire to lay blame, in fact I don't care at all who made the choice. All I want is to find out who I was before I fell to the darkside."

Vreik looked at him and shook his head.

"You want more than that young Knight, I can tell. What is it you are not telling us?"

Pausing, Revan looked at the tiny master in front of him. What he wanted tore at him, as much as the guilt and pain of what he had once been did. He cleared his throat, suddenly nervous.

"Malak called me a puppet. Something that the council created to control and use to their advantage." He felt the pain of what he was saying, trickle into the bond, and fought to stop Bastila feeling anything. "I want to know how much truth is in what he told me. Master Vandar told me that it's amazing I even stand before you today. He said that I should be a vegetable, just capable of feeding myself and walking around."

Sunrider glanced at Vreik who remained staring at Revan intently.

"If that's the case then why did my mind fix itself? If it didn't then what did? Where did who I am come from? I know that they gave me a past, gave me a history that could fit in to anything anyone asked me." He looked around and the pain and despair slipped in to his voice. "But who am I? _What_ am I? _Please_, if you know anything, I ask you to help me!"

Hieruk looked at Revan and sighed, his deep voice resonating around the chamber.

" I have been a friend of Master Dooruk for many years. " He said quietly. " The rite that they used to focus the force to heal your damaged mind, to erase the taint of Lord Revan is ancient. I am sure master Vandar explained that the holocron describing what it actually did is lost. "

"So the vast archives even here, are useless to me?"

" I am afraid so. While we can, and will, give you information about who you used to be and I can also provide you with information on the rite used to heal and erase your mind, how it managed to do this is lost to us. I am sorry."

"Why did you use it in the first place if you know so little about it?" He asked quietly, knowing the answer.

"Because we had no other choice." Sunrider responded, as quietly as he had posed the question. "We were losing people all over the galaxy. Your past self had huge fleets of ships and the tactical skill to employ them. So when Bastila saved your broken body, we had a desperate chance to use the knowledge you carried to our advantage."

"I know all about how she saved my life!" He muttered, opening his eyes and looking at her. "The memories, that's another thing I need answers to! If you erased my mind, how come I get memory flashes of my past? Dreams that I wake screaming from? Why can I sometimes feel lord Revan almost looking over my shoulder? Even Jolee said I was unfocused, as though darkness hung over me! _What_ am I?" The question ripped itself from him, despite his best efforts.

"We don't know and we cannot help you." Vreik answered softly, his eyes a mirror of Revan's pain. "I am so very sorry, Revan, but it is as master Vandar said. We on Coruscant have no answers for you."

Revan felt sick and closed his eyes as total despair swept through him. Sunrider watched him from her chair and felt only compassion for the redeemed Sith lord standing before her. He hadn't asked for any of this. To find out he had been the leader of the brutal enemy they now fought must have shattered everything he'd believed in. Now, with Bastila the only thing keeping him going, all the council's vast knowledge was absolutely useless. She sighed and Revan looked at her.

"I, for one, wish to apologise young knight." Surprised faces peered at her from around the room. "For all you once did as the dark lord Revan, it's obvious you aren't him anymore. We did a terrible thing when we advised you should not be told who you were. That was wrong and it put you and Bastila in terrible danger, both from yourself when you found the truth and her guilt at keeping this secret that helped Malak turn her."

Revan shuffled slightly in the middle of the council chamber and looked at her with a weak smile.

"I suppose that I'm back to square one then." He laughed slightly, but there was no amusement in it. "So what do I do now?"

"Wait for the council to decide what to do with you, as all Jedi do!" Telan said and Revan looked at her, eyes flashing.

"Who said I want to remain a Jedi?" He asked and a ripple shot through the council, followed by a groan from the majority. "I did what you really wanted, I destroyed the forge, killed Malak. I've 'paid' for my new life. The council on Dantooine… you as well… cannot escape that what you did could be considered an injustice. You should have let her tell me, as soon as I woke up! What reason can you possibly give for me to stay?"

"Revan…" Sunrider began and he looked at her. "You've proved yourself as a force of good and The Jedi need you right now. You know as well as we do, that the battle with the Sith is far from over. Please, we need you."

"I know," He sighed. "But what the council did…"

"Vandar and the others did it for the greater good, please try to understand, to forgive. It was an injustice to you but a necessary one. Let us prove to you that the council does things for good."

"I find it hard to believe anything the council says." Revan muttered and Sunrider winced at his bitter tone. A sudden thought struck him and he looked up. "If you really want me to stay as a Jedi, I need a favour."

"Favour?" Vreik asked and he swapped a glance with Sunrider and Hieruk. "What would that be?"

Revan told them and the council leaders glanced at each other.

"We can do that I think." Sunrider said. "It's a lot of money though, but if it helps you forgive our order… shows our appreciation for all you've done."

"Thank you masters." Revan looked around the room. "It does mean a lot to me. She, as you know, means a lot to me."

"I'm sure. Now, please return to the conference room. We need to discuss a few things." Vreik looked around the council and sighed. "We will call Bastila and yourself back once we have decided what to do. This could take a while, so please be patient."

Dejected by the lack of answers, Revan slowly walked out of the council chamber. He needed to talk to someone, but the one person he could had shut him out. With a sigh he walked slowly back to the conference chamber. He had to patch things up with Bastila, before he couldn't hold on anymore.

Vreik waited for a few seconds after the door slid quietly shut behind him and turned to the other council members.

"It seems Vandar is correct, Revan _is_ a totally different person… very interesting."

"How do we know that?" Telan snorted. "He could be lying, wants to corrupt us from the inside." Many masters looked at her with contempt but she continued, oblivious. "Look at Bastila, how can she be in love with someone like that? Someone who wiped planets from the galaxy! How do we know he isn't controlling her?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Sunrider snapped. "We need to only look at all the good things he did before leaving to find the starmaps to see he's changed. Lord Revan would never have bothered with the Sandral and Matale feud, or taken on the Mandalorian raiders leader. Plus he did save Bastila from the darkside, when he loved her too. I wonder how tempting it was for him to join her in the darkness? Even with her passion attempting to corrupt him, he pulled her back to the light, knowing that he ran the risk of we, the council, splitting them forever! Now he wants us to help him find his place. That's not the work of a dark Sith lord to me!"

"Plus, we must take into consideration the fact that he did destroy the Starforge and Malak." Vreik said quietly, looking at his hands. "Without him, even Admiral Dodonna has admitted that Bastila would have wiped them out. Besides, we need him now, more than ever. Although weakened, the Sith are still fighting. They have more resources than we or the Republic have available at this time." He paused and looked round the council. "We need Revan and Bastila together, and we need them at the peak of their abilities"

"You intend to go against the Senate then Master Vreik?" Telan asked in shock. "You know as well as I that half the house have demanded Revan be put on trial for the war crimes he committed before we erased his mind!"

"While the other half see him as a figurehead for the fight, a redeemed Jedi who vanquished Malak." Sunrider argued softly. "Master Vreik is right, Telan, even you can see that. Bastila and Revan are needed terribly right now. The Sith 6th fleet is beginning to assemble to assault the Tangelos Tabana gas mines. We need Bastila's battle meditation to swing the battle, but she can't do that if we arrest Revan and lock him away, it'll devastate her."

Looking around she cleared her throat.  
"We all, I know, felt Bastila's pain and guilt. It was terrible and the only thing keeping her going, even if she knows it or not, is Revan's strength, his love…" She paused and looked at Vriek, his face thoughtful once more. "She will need him if she is to vanquish the pain left inside, to find a way to cope."

"I still say it's a bad idea!" Telan muttered. "Two Jedi, of such power and in love is dangerous."

Sunrider sighed and Telan sat back, her face dark.

"What's worse is Revan himself." Sunrider continued, looking around the room and finding the majority of heads nodding in agreement. "We can only guess how he feels about himself right now. A Jedi has powerful emotional control, it is when that control is broken that the danger lies. I don't know about anyone else, but Revan must be nearing the limits of his ability."

"What are you talking about?" Telan snapped. "Revan is a puppet, a personality that the council on Dantooine implanted in his mind. I'm sure he has all the emotional control he needs."

"Really? That's not what I saw when you attacked him about his involvement with Bastila. He was so close to snapping, Telan, you're lucky he managed to rein it back." Sunrider sighed and looked at the council with a frown. "He may have a… a history that was imprinted by the masters on Dantooine but from what I've seen, from what our own chronicler master Hieruk has told us, we have no idea what _personality_ has been placed there. I worry for his mental stability,"

Sunrider glanced at Vreik and Hieruk with a frown.

"He has found that his life is a lie, that we erased his memory and gave him a new past. That he was the Dark lord of the Sith and is responsible for countless acts of terror and evil. To top it all, we do not have the answers he seeks about himself." She sighed and thought back to the crushing defeat she'd felt from him as he had left the council chamber. "I don't know how much longer he can keep going, I only hope Bastila can help him through the difficult times ahead."

Vreik nodded and Sunrider sat back down. He looked around the room.

"Bastila is strong enough I feel to support him, but only if she can rid herself of the guilt she feels over her fall to the darkside. I have to agree with Revan, any blame we assign to Bastila would be wrong. Many more powerful masters have fallen to the darkside when under the torture of Malak. To punish Bastila, a Padawan who managed to resist him for as long as any of us could, would be a terrible injustice. As for her own self-charge of murder. Considering that it was a Sith torturer, and also that it was Malak's idea to use this against her… I cannot see any reason for us to discipline her over this."

With a sigh, Vreik steepled his fingers once more.

"I must also present the practical side to the council. Bastila is young but from the evidence of her resistance to Malak's physical and force based torture, coupled with her development of battle meditation, Bastila will be able to harness her power as much as Revan someday. Together they could be our most powerful force for good."

"All the more reason to separate them in my opinion, as I've said already. If Revan becomes dangerous, if he loses control of himself as master Sunrider says, worse if he turns to the darkside, we will need Bastila to stop him."

"I didn't say Revan was mentally unstable as of now!" Sunrider said sharply at Telan. "Just that he needs our support at the moment. Finding out that everything they believe is a lie would shock anyone. All I'm saying is that Revan needs our compassion and, more importantly, Bastila at this time. To separate them at all would be wrong both on a moral and logical standpoint. I will object to any attempt to do so!"

With a sigh Vreik looked around the council at the other masters.

"We will now vote on the fate of Bastila, Revan and possibly the Republic. I just hope that the bond between them is as strong as I hope." He looked at Sunrider who shook her head. "I just hope that the two of them can find peace, or forgiveness, in one another's company."


	8. Revenant:chapter2:part three

Revenant chapter 2: part3

Revan looked at the door to conference room two and sighed. He knew Bastila was inside the room, he could feel that much about her. However, she'd blocked all the other ways he usually felt her presence, especially her emotions. With a deep breath he walked into the room.

Mission sat on the sofa at the end of the room closest to him. Her special Pazzak deck was spread out in front of her and a childish sticking out of her tongue indicated she was busy playing against herself. He shook his head and looked around for the woman he wanted to see, to talk to.

Bastila was standing at the north window, looking out. She had her back deliberately turned away from him and her turquoise eyes were dark as she pointedly gazed out at Coruscant's busy horizon. He reached into the bond, stretched out to her and winced as she slapped him back. He could have pushed harder, but it would have been a painful battle of wills… not what he wanted.

"Hey, Rev!" Mission looked up, spying him for the first time. "How'd the meeting that "Non Jedi aren't allowed to attend." go?"

Looking at Bastila and feeling her spine taking in every word, Revan sighed slightly and glanced at the young, blue Twi'lek.

"Well, I think I managed to stop someone making a bad mistake." He felt Bastila's emotional control jerk at that, and continued to look at her. "The council are deciding what to do about it. But they didn't have any answers for me about my 'recovery'…"

Mission looked upset and he felt a twitch of interest and sorrow leak from Bastila's control for a few seconds. Frowning, Mission looked at each of them in turn.

"I've been trying to get Bastila to tell me why she nicked the Hawk an what they wanted to talk to her about. She's been very quiet an won't answer." She huffed and looked at the figure at the window. "Now you're here Rev, maybe I can get some answers out of Jedi locked lips over there, yeah?"

Revan saw Bastila stiffen further and he looked at Mission with a tired smile.

"She wanted to see her mother. She's sick."

"Oh no. Is… is it curable?" Mission asked, her voice suddenly upset. Revan shook his head.

"No. But that's the main reason she came to Coruscant, isn't it Bastila?"

"You bastard," Bastila muttered quietly without looking at him. Mission looked around in shock, but Revan stood there in the middle of the room. Exhaustion, from everything that had happened to him in the past weeks, was rapidly beginning to overtake him. "You supercilious, noble bastard."

"Bast, what… what're you saying? Rev and you, you're in love yeah? Why'd you call him that?" Mission looked at them each, fear and shock rippling across her face. Bastila ignored her and, turning around, stepped up to Revan with her hands on her hips.

"You couldn't let me handle this _my_ way!" she snapped. The anger she felt with him flowed freely, even as she felt guilty… attacking him for saving her from herself. "You had to act the hero again, had to save me from myself! Must be getting a taste for it! After you saved me from the darkside, your darkside!"

"I couldn't let you ruin everything you are, everything I care about you, over guilt Bastila." Revan's voice was quiet.

"_Far too quiet_", Mission thought worriedly.

"So, you stole into my mind while I was sleeping, saw me kill that young woman in a dream and then what? Eh?" She turned away from him and stormed back to the window. "Put two and two together and just couldn't let me go to the correct authority to judge me. Had to get involved! I mean _why_?"

"I love you." Revan whispered. "I need you and you would have let them split us apart if it eased your guilt… Bastila, I know how you feel but she was a torturer, she helped turn you to the darkside. It's no wonder you struck her down in fear and anger. You have to realise that anything you did after Malak tortured you was down to fear and hatred. I couldn't let you sacrifice yourself, our love or what we could have in the future for that. Please, I don't want this… this anger between us anymore. I need you."

"And what makes you think _I_ need you?" Bastila snapped back, instantly regretting the words as she did so.

"_What the hell is wrong with me?_" she thought, as Revan slumped further towards the carpet. "_He's been through as much hell as I have, had to face _me_ on the forge, the woman he loves... By the force I owe him my damn life! So why can't I forgive him for doing what he did in the council chamber? He did it because of our love, not for any selfish reason_."

"Look… Revan," Bastila turned to him, her voice tinged with regret. "I need to…"

As she turned and looked at him, a gasp escaped her lips. Revan's face was wet as tears poured from his eyes, she'd never seen any man cry and it was a shock to see him, someone so strong all the time, in total defeat. Bastila's own face creased in empathy and she walked towards him.

"I'm sorry." She whispered and Revan looked at her, a deep sob escaping his chest.

"I… I can't hold onto it anymore." He managed to say, shuddering slightly.

Bastila was about to ask him what he was talking about, when a torrent of pain, despair and guilt poured down the bond and slammed into her skull. She gasped loudly, looking at Revan in agonised empathy. Unable to prevent the emotions ripping into her, she fell back, slamming her head against the plastiglass of the room's window. She slid down the glass wall, sobbing in unison with Revan. She felt all the emotion he'd stored since Malak, since he had told him the truth, since she'd been taken from him and twisted, rip past his defences and slam into her.

Mission, unable to sense or understand any of the power roaring down the bond, could only watch in shocked horror as Bastila fell back against the glass, her face coated in tears and her body jerking helplessly. Revan had slumped, tears also pouring from his eyes, onto his knees. His arms wrapped tightly around his chest and moans of horror slipping from his mouth in a steady stream. Terrified, Mission ran from the room, she had to get someone she trusted, skilled in the Jedi arts… Jolee or Juhani!

"Jolee!" She cried out running down the corridor, past shocked Jedi. "Juhani!"

Bastila writhed against the glass, and a small part of her mind reeled at the sheer power of the emotion tearing through her. How had he held this back? Had it been her, the sole thing he was proud of that had kept this terrible despair at bay? She shook her head and tried to fend it off her mind, she had to help Revan… she had to! Even as she tried to block, deflect or soothe his pain, her barriers shattered as soon as she erected them. Looking at Revan, with sorrow on her face, she gave up resisting and let the images flow.

"_They say the force can do terrible things to a mind_."

Fear.

"_You don't know who you are do you?_"

Confusion, dread.

"_You are Darth Revan_!"

No…Horror.

"_Yes, it's true. You are Revan_."

Betrayal, shock.

"_It's not over yet Malak. For the Jedi_!"

Bastila…N_o_! Terror.

"_You don't understand, I have given myself freely to Malak and the darkside_!"

Guilt, overwhelming guilt.

"_I could never love anyone as weak as you_!"

Despair.

All the images, the memories, blurred into a terrible maelstrom and Bastila fought to free herself from its grip. Her own emotional control had been forever difficult to maintain, now it was impossible. The torrent threatened to rip her mind apart and she groaned, clutching at her skull, as her mind clashed against its dangerous power. She looked at Revan and felt the anchor and the power of her love for him, steady her against the rip and pull. She had to help him, somehow. Reaching out, she touched his mind.

"_You have to stop it, you're hurting me_!" She thought desperately and Revan looked at her. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the love she sent to him, fought against the flow of his turmoil.

Suddenly as quickly as they had assaulted her, the emotions battering her mind vanished and she slipped to the carpet in exhaustion. She could feel the pull of the bond as Revan fought to control them once again. He gripped his head in obvious battle with himself and she pulled herself upright and crawled across to him. As her soft hands slipped gently onto his, he opened his eyes and looked at her with total despair.

"I can't do it anymore. I've fought it ever since the Leviathan, since Malak, " He whispered to her as she pulled his hands down into her lap, they shook slightly and Bastila tightened her grip. "Do you know what it's like Bast? To find out that all you ever have been is a lie? That someone has inserted a past into your mind? Memories, parents, a career you think you had? I can remember all of it! Fighting a Sith fighter patrol on the Corellian run, sweeping past them with supplies for the Republic!"

She gasped as he suddenly reached out and gripped her tightly round the waist, burying his face into the side of her neck. Her hands automatically slid up his back and she gripped him as tightly as he did her.

"The only thing that keeps you going is the woman you love." He whispered, pain in every word." Then, to your horror, you lose her. She's taken from you, and there's nothing you could do to stop it!" He sighed with misery. "When you finally catch up with her, she's been twisted into everything she hates, and it's all your fault!"

Bastila felt tears slip into her eyes, she knew how he felt. Knew very well. It was the same she felt every time she looked at herself in the mirror. The shame, the guilt… all of it inside her, unable to escape.

"I can't live the lie anymore, I'm Revan and I have to accept it." He said quietly, his voice wracked with agony. Pulling back he gazed into her turquoise eyes. "But I can't be that strong without you anymore!"

"Then don't." She whispered at him gently, feeling her anger with him crumble. "Let it go. I love you Revan, I love you for who you are, share some of your pain with me… please."

"What about you?" He whispered, and she sighed… always concerned for her as much as himself. "Will you share yours with me? Will you let me help you, as I help myself?"

She nodded and her mind shuddered suddenly, pulling a gasp of surprise out of her as Revan dropped all his defences and pulled her mind close to his. She felt him reach out to her, and she let her own defences drop. With the both of them so close, so unguarded with their emotions, thoughts and memories the bond slipped from a connection of two people to the sharing of one mind.

Revan felt her memories, her emotions, everything that made her who she was, slip into him and he gasped as everything she was slipped next to him, as though he could reach out and touch her. Bastila felt the same and she marvelled at everything she felt from him. Unable to help herself, she drifted with him through their combined memory, feeling overwhelmed. She wanted more time to explore, to marvel at the feeling this joining provided. But she couldn't, she had to help.

"_It's time_." She thought gently as she felt Revan try to slip gently between her and his emotions. With a sigh her mind slipped next to his and she felt Revan pull back slightly. "_I'm not afraid to feel what you've been through_."

"_I don't want you to feel any of it_." He thought reluctantly. "_I've changed my mind_."

Bastila felt him begin to pull back, to erect his mental barriers and reduce the joining. She reached out to him and gripped his mind with hers, her love for who he was wrapping them together."

"_I need you Revan, as much as you need me_." She sent to him, and his mind rejoined hers ever so softly. "_Please, I need you_."

He sighed and she felt his unease slip into her mind, even though he wanted to release all his guilt. She wouldn't let him go and gripped his mind with determination, until with a tender brush of apology he pulled her with him. Memories flashed into her mind, as his own sought the ones that filled him with such terrible pain. Overwhelming at first, she soon felt the flow slow.

"_I hope you're ready_." He thought and she felt his misery trickle into her mind as the images began to slip into her. "_I hope you understand_."

His parents smiling and reaching out to him as a child, his first birthday, school, a fight with a school bully, his first kiss… All of the memories slipped past her in a sudden flood and with each one she could feel his despair.

"_All of these are my memories from who I thought I was_," He sent to her, a terrible sadness mixed with the words. "_Who I actually am is Revan, a fallen Jedi who caused more murder, destruction and cruelty than the mandalorian wars. The worst thing is, for all of my knowledge of what happened to me, some of the memories…" _He paused and sighed sadly_. "Some I can't believe are false, some I don't want to think are false. I… I have one which I wish with every fibre in my being was real, but it can't be."_

"_Show me_." Bastila whispered and Revan sighed. With a nod she felt a sudden tug and…

With a flash Bastila found herself looking at a young man, sixteen or seventeen in age, climbing a hill in the middle of nowhere. A small survival pack clamped to his shoulders with unigrips. He stood up, panting from exhaustion and looked out across the horizon. In the distance, ships from a starport flew into the sun and he grinned. With a sigh he turned back to the hillock and began to climb once more. Bastila looked around and saw Revan standing quietly watching the young man. His face was mixed with emotions. They followed the young version of him to a hillock and watched as he set up a tent. Turning around the young man grinned once more, another figure was climbing the hillock, another environ pack across its shoulders.

"Telri, you made it!" Revan cries out to the figure, who looks up with a growl.

"Revan you bog slime, why'd you pick this place for our camp? It's miles away from anywhere!" Telri shouts from her ascent and Revan grins.

Bastila watches as his young frame runs down the hill and strives to help the figure, now she can see it's a young Twi'lek girl and she's obviously here for him.

"I'm glad you came." Revan says with a smile and he pulls the pack off her shoulders. I… I wanted you to see this, it's my favourite spot on the whole planet."

"Don't your parents ever get worried about where you are?" She asks him with a sigh and Revan shakes his head.

"Nah. Dad thinks it's a good thing for me, mom too. Sometimes I come up here to think about what I want to be…"

"Oh?" Telri asks as they reach the top of the hill and she collapses at the edge rubbing her feet. "So what is it? Soldier, smuggler, scout… Jedi?" She asks this last and grins.

Bastila felt a flash of regret from her Revan and glanced over.

"_I think that Vandar and the others have a wonderful sense of humour_." Revan whispered and Bastila blanched at his mixed emotions, his irony. "_It's so funny, that added Jedi comment_. _How do they do it_?"

With a shiver at his tone, Bastila wrenched her eyes back to the memory playing itself out in front of her.

"I dunno," Memory Revan says with a shrug. "All of them have what I really want."

Telri looks across and smiles at him. Her light blue skin is glowing in the sunlight and Bastila watches with a feeling of embarrassment as Revan slips closer to her on the grass.

"And that would be?" She asks with a smile. Revan sighs and slips an arm across her shoulders.

"I want to see the galaxy, not get stuck here. I'm only seventeen but soon, when I'm eighteen and I get the qualifications from flight school? I'm leaving."

"Oh where to?"

"Anywhere I can." Revan looks at Telri and smiles at her. "I'm gonna make my fortune out in those stars, and when I become rich?" He pulls her close. "I'm coming back to make you my queen."

Teri laughs and leaning across kisses him. He holds her tightly and together they watch the horizon as the sun sinks slowly, the ships in the sky flickering into tiny glowing dots as the sky darkens. Bastila feels slightly sick. This is so personal, so very private and yet Revan wants her to see it, needs her too. She looks across at him and sees that his eyes are moist. This memory is painful to him now that he knows the truth, so very painful. With a gentle shudder, the memory fades and Bastila finds herself once more in the soft glow of their shared mind.

"_All of that is false_," Revan thought gently. "Out of a_ll of them, I wish this were true the most. How do I live my life knowing that all I can remember is a lie? What can make up for all of that_?"

"_I understand._" Bastila thought back. "_I wish what we did to you was untrue, but it is and I know how you must feel_."

"_Do you_?" He looked at her. "_How do you know what I feel when I can't sort it out myself? I feel…_"

"_Betrayed? Angry, shocked, depressed, as though everything you believed was and is a lie?_" Bastila said in one go and Revan looked at her, speechless. "_Because it's how I felt not too long ago, when I fell and with the darkness coursing through me, examined my own life. But I had someone make me realise something_."

"_What?"_ Revan thought at her with reluctant curiosity and Bastila smiled.

"_That when you have someone who loves you?_" Bastila looked at him and Revan felt her love slip across him. "_That the past is the past and we are who we are, no matter what happens._ "

"_If that were true then I should still be Darth Revan_!" he thought with a grimace at her and Bastila sighed slightly.

"_Revan was a powerful force for good before he fell after the Mandalorian wars. When he turned to the darkside he lost himself_." She smiled. "_But I think, even with the loss of your memories, you are more like him than ever. Like the man I always thought you were_."

With a sigh Revan smiled at her, she knew how to press the right buttons. He felt the despair lift slightly and stared at her. He could feel her belief in him, her acceptance of who he was now and in the future. With a slight grin he shook his head. She was right, even with the loss of his memories, the fact that his past was a lie, she was right. He had to live in the future, create his own memories and past for himself. One thing he knew for certain though, Bastila was the one thing he wanted above all else, and the one thing he needed. He felt part of his depression lift but another part still gnawed at him. Bastila felt it and he looked at her mind with uncertainty.

"What?" she thought quickly at him, and he looked at her sadly.

_Despite all that I've managed to achieve." _He said gently and Bastila felt his guilt_. "Malak's death, the destruction of the starforge, hell even all the good you helped me do while we looked for the Starmaps. None of that excuses what I did, what I started."_

"_What Darth Revan started_." Bastila said gently and she felt him disagree.

"_I began this, the fact that I can't remember it means nothing. I started this war, with my belief in the Sith. All the death and destruction, the mangled worlds, ruined lives." _He winced and his guilt flooded her_. "How do I live with that? I feel guilt over things I can't remember… spent the past few weeks trying to undo a tiny part of the damage that I caused. Even with the Starforge destroyed, the Sith still exist and are attacking the Republic. All of this is my fault_."

"_Not yours, Darth Revan's_." She repeated to him, urged him to see the truth. "_Even with part of his name, you are _not_ him. Who you used to be is gone. In his place stands a man who follows the light, who is a force for good and who is now the person I love… you_. _The loss of your memories, your personality, is a terrible price to pay for redemption, but believe me; you are worth the price_. _Take pride in what you have achieved as a Jedi. Take strength from the fact that I love you with all my heart_. _Also, if you want to truly atone for all you've done_?" Bastila said gently. "_Then continue what you've started. Be who you are, not who you used to be. Darth Revan is dead and Jedi Revan is now who you are. We can force the Sith back and help everyone once more_."

Revan sighed and Bastila felt the darkness left inside him lessen ever so slightly. Bastila was right Revan decided. He had to concentrate on what he'd accomplished as who he was now, not who he had been. The fact that she needed him, loved him, wanted to be with him, made living with the knowledge of what he had lost easier to cope with.

Bastila's mind slipped around his gently and he felt her warmth, as though she was breathing softly onto his neck. He wished that he'd been able to prevent the torture she'd suffered at Malak's hands, wanted to help her deal with her pain and guilt now as she had him. Even as the thought passed through his mind, he felt her withdraw sharply, frightened.

"_My turn_." He thought gently pulling her back; Bastila's mind recoiled just a little. "_Show me._"

"_I can't_," Bastila whispered. "_I can help you, but what happened to me is… is_."

"_Is what's keeping you up at night, giving you nightmares, affecting your judgement and filling you with guilt_."

"_Always the one with the fast answers_…" Bastila thought tersely at him, but Revan felt her grudging acceptance. "_Very well, but you won't like what I have to show you, what you'll feel though me_."

"_I've seen some of what you feel_," He said quietly to her. "_Your nightmare at the hospital, I saw that. All your guilt, all your anger and fear, it all came through that dream. I want to help you, Bast."_

He felt her shift slightly inside his mind and with a flash he's there, actually with her, inside a memory she's been keeping quiet about since her corruption.


	9. Revenant:chapter2:part four

Revenant chapter 2: part 4

It's cold on the slab. He/she can feel it seep through the clothes on her back. The muscles in her thighs are numb, as are his/her arms and wrists, the cold metal clamps hold him/her to this damn stone slab and it's hard to sleep when your muscles complain all the time. He/she's so tired. But he/she must be strong, has to be for him… Revan the man he/she loves and the man who is searching for him/her. He/she wonders how much longer she has to wait, has to endure night after night of the cold and the damp until he walks through the door, picks him/her up and saves him/her from Malak and the darkside.

A sudden fall of footsteps makes him/her look round. Two days of this has gone by, she can tell by the change of the guards keeping an eye on her. That in itself has been hard. One of them, she knows which one with the force, has been taking liberties with her while she's been tied down. He likes to run his hands across her helpless body and watch her flinch… The footsteps are getting louder and she recognises the shoes, it's her…

The young woman who walks around the corner is quite small, only five feet high or so. She walks with a slight limp, from where she/he doesn't know, but the step is unique on the stone and metal.

"Click, shuffle click, click, shuffle click… " It fills Bastila/Revan with dread, despite his/her training, for this is the footfall of the woman who tortures him/her.

"Hello sweetie." Her voice is sickeningly amused, almost tender and he/she flinches at the grin on her torturer's face. "Malak has some work he needs to be done on the starforge, new robots for your little friend Revan to meet. So he's told me to keep you amused for the rest of tonight until he can get to you tomorrow morning. He wants to have a little chat, oh and show you his skill with force lightning, I hope you managed to get some sleep while I took a dinner break."

Bastila/Revan watches as she places the box that she carries on the floor. With a gentle sigh the woman, she's never mentioned her name, slips the lid open and plays with the things inside.

Most of what she's done to Bastila/Revan she/he's managed to block out. The last one however had been so terrible it had burned itself into his/her mind, past all her defences. She'd used some sort of nano-probe and had cut an incision into Bastila/Revan's stomach, inserting a rod with thin wires into the wound. He/she knew now that the probe had been designed to stimulate the nerve endings of the tissue it came into contact with. All Bastila/Revan could remember was the feeling as though liquid fire had been poured inside him/her, the agony of the unending burning sensation and his/her torturer's laughter as she twisted the probe. Even with his/her Jedi training, after nine hour's non-stop it had worn him/her to sheds. Now, whenever she/he sees her Bastila/Revan feels the faint stirrings of hatred, and they feel good.

"I have new toys to play with," Torturer looks up at her victim on the slab. For just a second, fear grips Bastila/Revan's heart and he/she shivers. "Maximum pain with minimum damage, after all I can't have Malak's prize injured, he'll kill me."

"_Not if I do it first_!" Bastila/Revan thinks for just a second, before he/she feels ashamed and horrified. "This is pointless I will not turn!"

Torturer pulls out a set of tiny devices and smiles at Bastila/Revan.

"See this?" She asks with a cruel smile. "When I place these around your heart, with one push of a button I can stop it. Lets see how long you can go without a heartbeat, yes?"

"_You feel guilt over the death of this… this human piece of filth_?" Revan thought at her, the memory slipping back into her subconscious. His need to protect her was powerful and she felt his disbelief and distaste for the woman she struck down. "_You're a better Jedi than I am, to feel guilt over putting her down._ _She was scum Bastila, sick and cruel for cruelty sake! If I'd been in your position I'd have done the same_!"

"_I don't believe you_," Bastila's mind accused him gently. "_You're so much stronger at controlling your emotions than I, you would have resisted the lure of the darkside, would have never killed her in anger, in fear. I know you_."

"_Even if you're right. I can understand why you struck her down. All that fear leading to hatred_." He turns to her and she felt his love wrap itself around her. "_I forgive you Bast_."

"_I wasn't strong enough_." She thought miserably. "_I'm a Jedi, or I used to be, I should have been strong enough to resist my own hatred_!"

"_You were_," He replied gently. "_It took Malak a week to turn you Bast, she was part of his plan. If I'd been just a little faster you'd never have fallen_."

"_This isn't your fault_!" She thought quickly. "_You had to find the starmap, I know how hard that must have been. I don't blame you I blame myself. If I had been stronger you would have been able to rescue me. I… I would never have attacked you on the Temple_."

He sighed and she felt his forgiveness flood her mind.

"_I have more to show you."_ Bastila whispered, shame flooding her. But the need for her to share what she felt was growing. "_I have something shameful, something I felt about you_."

"_Show me then_." He whispered gently in her mind, and with little effort the memory slipped back, except bow he stood watching to one side, but the emotions of what she was feeling remained.

She' tired now and in terrible pain. Torturer has left, left due to her own exhaustion. While she's going to sleep on a soft bunk, Bastila remains chained to the slab, cold and in agony. She sobs quietly and tears pour down her face. Where is he, the man she loves?

"_He's left you_." A part of her, the darkest part that she's denied all her life whispers. Here in the temple it's taken on a life of it's own, or so she thinks. "_Gone, can't face the danger to save you. So here we are, being tortured and for what_? _What on earth would bring him back here to save you?_"

"Love," She whispers and the guards chortle, the great Jedi is talking to herself.

"_Love? Love is a lie. There is only passion! Passion leads to power in the darkness that Malak offers, you could use it to escape_."

"No. I will not turn to the darkside."

"_Even if it's the only way you can escape? Look, all you friends, your lover, have left you here. Revan is scared of the temple, scared of Malak. He'll stay as far away from this place as possible, after all," _The voice in her head sniggered_. "He owes the council nothing, they erased everything he is. That leaves him coming for you. But you lied to him, used him…_"

"He'll come. I know he'll come for me, for the council. He follows the light. But they have to find the final starmap; that could take ages."

"_You fool, he'll not come for you. You'll have to rely on yourself, as you always have. I know you have the power inside you to take out everyone in this place. Give in to your fear, your anger… The Jedi council would praise you for killing Malak, by any means."_

"No. I… I know he's coming for me. I can be strong." She whispers, feeling the voice flitter back into her subconscious, leaving a faint lingering doubt in her mind. "I have to be. He'll be here, he will."

With a determined nod she begins to concentrate, shoring up her emotional control once again, healing her body and preparing herself for Malak. But the seed remains in her mind as she drifts off. "_He's left me here alone_."

"Hello Bastila. How are we feeling today?" Malak asks her, as she's shaken awake by the guards. "I understand that you've been refusing any food from Sera here."

Bastila looks across to the blond torturer and glowers.

"I don't need anything from the Sith. I have my belief in the code of the Jedi."

"Ah the code, well I'm sure that helps keep you warm and cosy on this slab of stone. Tell me, how does it feel to be my guest for the past few days? I would have thought Revan would have made an appearance by now."

"He'll come."

"Yes, I hear you've been saying that for quite some time. What if he doesn't?"

"No more Malak." She states, feeling a tug inside at his words. "I presume you're here to try and accomplish what, Sera wasn't it, what she failed to do."

"And that was?" He asks, his voice amused.

"To turn me. To cause me enough pain so that I will slip into darkness."

"Ah. Sorry my dear but that's not why I had her hurt you."

"It…it wasn't?" She asks, feeling a flash of anger at Sera's smug expression.

"No. I just wanted to watch you being tortured. I like to watch her working, she's very good. Our time together really begins now, so lets see how much lightening you can take in one go shall we? If it gets too much for you, feel free to scream Revan's name as much as you like, no one will mind."

The memory flickered and Revan found himself back in the cool non-space of their shared mind. Bastila hovered close and he looked at her gently.

"_There's more_." She thought, feeling his mixed emotions. "_But the rest I need to come to terms with myself. Having you here has been a great help but I have to apologise, I should have had more belief in your love for me, in our relationship. I… I don't deserve you_."

"_Sith poo-doo_." Revan thought at her with power and Bastila reeled back in surprise. "_I am honoured to be the one you love, if anything its me who doesn't deserve you! You're the strongest person I know_ _Bastila!_"

"_But I failed our love, our union!" _She wailed suddenly at him, powerfully, and Revan sighed_ "I should have known you'd come for me! Bond or no bond, I should have held on. I should have refused to believe any of Malak's lies! If I'd been strong then you would never have faced such temptation. My offer of the Sith, my loyalty and… and of my body_."

Revan watched her as she stuttered this at him. With a sigh, he looked at her with compassion and she looked at him, struggling to keep it back… so stubborn.

"_Bast, it's okay. True, seeing you so twisted was terrible for me_." He sighed and she gasped at the feeling of desire slipping into him. _"I can't deny that your offer, oh your offer was so very tempting. You stood there, both a terrible and beautiful site. When you looked at me with those eyes, did you know your eyes hadn't changed? I would have agreed to almost anything you asked of me, just so we could be together." _She felt his guilt at this admission. "I_f it hadn't been for the memory of our first kiss_, _well._ _The_ _soft need… the love you gave me that had gone… All I felt from you when you offered yourself to me was twisted desire, not love." _

"_I… I should have been the one at Malak's hands_!" He thought suddenly, wishing he could have spared her the pain she felt now.

"_No_!" Bastila replied quickly, too quickly and he looked at her gently. "_No… You had to find the starmaps, it was my choice then. I mean, I know how long it must have taken to find one starmap, after all you had every reason to be as fast as possible, you knew that time was of the essence and…_"

"_Here we go._" Revan thought. Bastila was struggling to repress what she really felt, her feelings of abandonment. He knew it was one large part of what was pulling her apart and he had to make her release it.

"_Let it go, Bastila, my love. Just let it go_." He watched her face twist in pain and she suddenly started to scream into him.

"_I mean the fact that I trusted you and you didn't come, you didn't come until it was too late, means nothing!" _She snapped loudly, arguing with herself, with her anger and guilt_. "That I spent days on that slab waiting for your footfall, dreamed of your arms around me, struggled to hold on for a week against everything Malak threw at me! No, I don't blame you at all for taking as long as you did, despite what happened to me! Not me, not my fault… not yours. No ones_." Her mind shuddered with pain as she yelled this at him.

"_It was my fault Bast, all of it. I'm so, so sorry_. _I should have been faster, stronger. I should have been able to finish Malak on the Leviathan, should have been able to save you before he even got his claws into you_."

She looked up at him and shook her head with a sigh. With the release of her pain she could finally let it go and it felt good. Reaching out with her mind, she brushed him gently in apology.

"_No, it really wasn't your fault and I… I suppose it wasn't mine either_." She admitted reluctantly and some of her shame washed away. "_My pride, my stubbornness, my passion… they helped me to fall, but in the end_." Bastila sighed and shook her head. "_In the end I suppose it was mostly Malak's fault. I… I just wish I'd been strong enough to hold on until you could free me_."

"_You were strong_." Revan said quietly and felt her shiver in his mind's grip. She needed his love as much as he needed hers, needed the strength he could give her. "_So very strong. Even when the darkness took you I could feel you Bast. Who I was lost himself, you didn't_."

She looked up at him in amazement and he grinned.

"_I could feel the tiny spark of light left in you on the forge. I knew I could save you, that you could save yourself if you had a reason. The reason I gave you was so simple_." He leaned close and she felt his love bathe her. "_I love you, and even then you knew it. You saved yourself and I am so proud of you for that." _She felt him reach out to her_. "I love you Bastila Shan, I am proud to be your lover and having seen all of this, I believe in you more than ever_."

His admiration poured into her and she felt almost all of her crushing guilt dissipate at his minds touch, the truth of his words slipping into and through her.

"_You really mean that, don't you_." She sent him, her mind drenched in relief. "_What did I do to deserve you? I love you so much and despite all I've done, you're still here._"

"_A herd of bantha's couldn't pull me away from you right now_!" His mind slipped back a few paces and she looked at him. "_I need to talk to you in the real world. It's important_."

With a gentle feeling of peace and forgiveness now trickling through her, it was so easy to reach back into herself and separate her mind from his. With a gentle shivering sensation that slowly filled her body, Bastila felt the bond between them dissolve slightly and return to a sensation at the back of her mind.

Her awareness of the physical world slipped back into place and as she opened her eyes Revan's, now, smiling face focused into view. She grinned and tilted her head at his expression, a look of tenderness that thrilled her. "What?"

"I want to do something right now." He whispered to her, eyes bright with desire. "Something I've been wanting to do for the past three days. Well… since our first kiss on the Hawk actually."

Without waiting for her answer, Revan leaned forwards, his hands still gripping her waist gently, and slipped his lips softly onto hers. Her eyes widened in delighted surprise and she returned the kiss with the same intensity. By the force she needed him.

For a few moments all she could think off was the hot, intense feeling spilling down her throat, through her lips, his breath… flooding every part of her body with warmth. The taste of him washed away her remaining fears and doubt about herself, their relationship… everything.

With a sigh she gripped him, held him tightly. This was what she'd needed, and what she'd foolishly denied herself. His love, his own acceptance of who she was, filled the void that had gnawed at her for the past few days.

"_I love you_." She whispered into him, the bond carrying emotion rather than words, and she felt him marvel at the power of her.

"_I know. I love you too, Bastila… my Bastila, everything I could ever need_."

His hands slid gently up from Bastila's waist to slowly trace her bodyline, the other gently cradled her neck, pulling her closer to him as he broke the kiss and slid down to begin again, kissing her throat gently. The thrill made Bastila run her hands through Revan's hair, indulging herself in the silky feel of it.

Unable to take the feeling of each kiss slipped onto her neck, unable to cope with the tingling, incredible warmth spreading through her, Bastila arched her back with a groan of pleasure. She gripped him tightly around the neck and pulled Revan even tighter to her.

Revan marvelled at the feel of her skin, the warmth of her body and, inhaling slightly, could smell the spicy hair cleanser she'd used while on the Hawk. She was intoxicating, everything he would ever need. He stopped thinking and ravaged her neck once more with soft kisses, he was hers and she was his… that was all that mattered.

Bastila sighed, she wanted to lose herself in the moment, wanted to immerse herself in his touch. However, a sudden remembrance of where she and Revan where, filled her mind and she pulled back. Her glazed eyes focused once more on the door, on the building and then on him. With a deep breath she looked at Revan's puzzled face and shook her head.

"We can't, not here. What if someone comes in? What if the council needs to see us while we're… we're."

He grinned and slipped his hands onto her shoulders, the gentle pressure rocking her backwards slightly and for just a second she resisted, until he kissed her again. She moaned slightly, the warmth melting any resistance.

"Well then, we'll just have to tell them that we're busy." Revan muttered gently, nuzzling her neck. "Very busy and unable to accede to their request."

Bastila began to giggle, all the pressure of the past few days seeping away from her, and lying back, she yanked Revan gently down on top of her. The soft carpet dug into her shoulders and she felt him slowly work his way down her throat once more, until he reached the top of her tunic. Her breath caught in her throat.

Ever so gently he reached up to the tiny zip holding it closed and rested his hand on it. Pulling his face back, he looked at her with questioning eyes, and her breath trembled as it escaped her lips. This was it, she thought with a feeling of trepidation. The first time she had ever given herself to anyone and Revan was waiting for her to make the move. With a few slow breaths, she bit her lip and nodded.

Revan began to slowly slide the zip to her tunic down and Bastila gripped him tightly as he did so. He unzipped it to just above the last few inches or so and to her surprise stopped, only to gently slide his left hand under the tight stretchy cloth and run it gently along her waist, along her bare skin. Bastila moaned and shivered slightly, his touch was like icy fire and nothing in her past had prepared her for this, nothing.

Pulling his hands back, Revan yanked the robes he wore away from his body. Bastila slowly ran her hands across his bare chest, pausing at one slight sabre scar for a few seconds and wincing slightly. Using his right hand to gently pull her hand away from the memory of how close they had come to being separated, his head descended and she felt his lips slide down to assault her stomach.

Bastila writhed under him, lost, letting her body dictate what happened. She was like putty as he began to pull down the zip of her tunic. She wanted him to, needed him to yank it the final few inches down across her stomach. Her liquid eyes glanced loosely over to the smoked glass of the door. The sudden group of shadows behind it however, the cacophony of familiar voices, made her freeze and grip Revan tightly in embarrassed shock. He looked up and also froze, his hands gripping her defensively.

"I'm telling you Jolee, one minute they're screaming at each other, well, Bastila, is anyway, and the next?" Mission jumped about from foot to foot in anxiety as her two Jedi friends walked gracefully along the corridor from the turbolift. "Bastila's flying backwards across the room and she bangs her head against the window and Revan is on his knees in the middle of the room crying. I… I've never seen anything like it, guys!"

"Calm yourself Mission," Juhani said gently looking at the anxious Twi'lek with compassion. "I'm sure that everything is fine."

"Fine? You weren't there, Ju!" Mission muttered turning back to the glass door. "I mean if Rev is as powerful as everyone is saying… if he goes funny in the head, then who'll stop him?"

"Calm down kid, let's find out what's been going on first, yes?" Jolee looked at Juhani with a quick glance and the Cathar unhooked her sabre hilt. "They've both been under a lot of stress recently, maybe they just both decided to blow off steam or something."

"Poo-doo Jolee. I've never seen anything like that before. We could find anything in there!" Mission muttered as the door hissed open and she walked through. "We could find…"

She stopped dead in the doorway, blocking the other two Jedi. Eyes wide, she took in the scene of her two friends wrapped together in the middle of the room, Revan's robes strewn across the floor. Her mouth continued with commentary, even as her mind reeled in shock.

"We… we could find them on top of one another, almost naked an… an stuff!" She stuttered as Bastila's face turned a bright shade of red. "Naked and kissing. But mostly them naked and on top of each other!"

"What?" Juhani's voice came through behind her, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"I… I, well. Umm," For the first time in her life, Mission was lost for words. "Wanna see?" She managed.

Jolee pushed her gently through the doorway and took in the sight of the two Jedi on the floor. With a grin he grabbed the young Twi'lek and pulled her backwards, while at the same time waving the Cathar away.

"They're fine Juhani, fine. In fact," Jolee grinned and a memory of Nayama and himself slipped into his mind, "In fact they're better than fine. We should leave them for a little while to sort this out among themselves. So… either of you two whippersnappers know where the cantina is around here?"

As the voices of the group slid away slowly, Bastila moaned in horror and looked at Revan's carefully neutral face.

"Bugger!" She managed, her cheeks red, and Revan began to laugh. She scowled at him, trying to wriggle out from under his body. "You actually think this is funny?"

"Well, yeah actually, it's just that I've never heard you swear like that before," He smiled at her and despite her embarrassment, she too felt her lips curve slightly. "Did you see Mission's face? I thought she was going to faint!"

"This is no laughing matter," She said as Revan slowly sat up away from her and she slid herself upright. "Jolee's going to have a field day with this, It'll keep him going for at least a week."

"A week?" Revan looked around for his robes and spying them a few metres away pulled them towards himself. "I'd say a month, maybe longer."

Bastila groaned at his sense of humour and stood, tucking errant strands of her hair back into the twin ponytails. She felt better, much better, and she knew why. Not only had he helped her cope with the lingering guilt she felt, but also he'd given her a taste of what being in love with him could mean.

Revan had slipped his robes back on and was tying the belt back round, when he caught her looking at him. He tilted his head and smiled at her. "What?"

"I just want you to know that you're the one." She said quietly, trying to stop her hands from shaking gently.

"The one?" He asked her quizzically.

"My one, I… I've never been with a man before." She turned away, her face red. "I was too wrapped up in training to be a Jedi to become… involved with anyone. From what I've heard from Juhani, she's even had more experience than I have. So if we, if we make love then it'll be the first time. I… I want you to be the one."

Revan felt his heart flutter and walked gently across to her. Slowly he turned her face back towards him.

"I'd just like to remind you Bast, that I'm in exactly the same position." He smiled at her puzzled face. "Everything I thought I've done? Well, those memories are not Revan's, they're mine. If they're mine then…"

"Oh!" She said, her eyes widening and he smiled. She shook her head and a faint grin played across her lips. "Wonder how the Masters got those memories for you? Not from me, Vrook maybe?" She giggled at his face. "Or possibly Vandar, I bet he has many tails to tell about when he was a young Jedi."

"Why, Padawan Shan." Revan laughed his eyes gleaming. "Since you've come out of your self imposed shell you've been much more fun to be with. I have to say I like it." His voice became more serious. "But I want you to know right now, you're my one too."

With a sigh, Bastila looked around the room and shook her head, focusing her Jedi skills and calming her thumping heart. She turned to him and sighed again.

"We should go, I'm sure the council will be calling us soon. I want to be there when they do."

Revan tilted his head once more and his face was quizzical. "Oh? Why?"

"Because I need to be there to tell them." She said taking his hand gently in hers and squeezing it. "I need to tell them that I've changed my mind on being punished. I need to tell them you were right and I was overreacting."

"Not overreacting." Revan said gently and smiled at her questioning face. "Overwhelmed by guilt. Something that you and I have dealt with I hope."

"Not all of it, as I'm sure you'll agree for yourself." Bastila looked at his eyes, saw the lingering pain and tightened her grip. "But enough. Enough to cope, to deal with the rest on our own."

"Knowing that you love me for who I am, not who I was, helps me a great deal. I suppose I have to stop looking into the past, have to look to the future." He reached up with is free hand and tilted her chin towards him, looked at her pale turquoise eyes. "If… if they try to separate us, will you come with me?"

Bastila shivered, and looked with equal need into his eyes.

"I need you Revan. I… I could turn away from being a Jedi if you were with me. We could settle somewhere quiet." She looked away and he felt her hand squeeze his again. "The force knows you and I have seen more than enough darkness to last a lifetime. But, it won't come to that. We have to trust in the council, trust them to understand."

"Trust?" He sighed and shook his head. "I have a hard time trusting any council of Jedi at the moment. Here, or the one on Dantooine."

"I know." Bastila pulled him slowly towards the door. "So trust me instead. Now, let's go. Please?"

"Okay." He sighed and smiled at her. "Just a second though, sweetness."

He pulled her towards him and leaned into her face, kissing her gently. As she savoured the taste of him, a sudden "zirrr" made her look down. He was pulling the zip that held her tunic closed back up her body. Blushing, she looked up at him. She'd forgotten all about it.

"Sweetness? You've spent far too much time with Carth, Jedi Revan." She grinned.

"Shall we?" He asked her, face neutral, and she smiled. With a nod, they stepped together towards the door and the council rooms.

"Please wait here Knight Revan, Padawan Shan. The council is still deliberating, although they have asked that your Jedi companions also come to the council hall."

"Thank you." Bastila said to the female Jedi who stood respectfully outside the council doors. "Has anyone notified Master Bindo and Knight Juhani?"

"Yes Lady Shan, they should arrive shortly. Please, take a seat."

Revan flung himself with good grace into one of the soft chairs lining the corridor and cocked his head at the council doors. Whatever was going on in there, it was being hotly debated. Bored he felt his sabre flick into his hand and, with a soft motion, began to levitate and rotate. The female Jedi watched with a mild shake of her head and Revan grinned at her.

"Want to see me do a 360 with it?" He asked and she frowned.

"Revan." Bastila hissed, warning in her voice. "Behave."

"Sometimes you can be no fun at all." He said quietly, and a grin played briefly across her lips in response. With a sigh, he let the hilt drop back into his hand and he hooked it back onto his belt.

"Well, well. Hi you two. Got a seat for an old man?" Jolee asked, Juhani standing next to him, a soft smile playing across her usually stoic features.

"Jolee, sure. Here, take mine." Revan said grinning. Jolee smiled at him and sat down on the proffered seat, a cup of coffee steaming in his hand. Juhani took up residence against the wall, inclining her head in Revan's direction and also giving Bastila a swift respectful nod. The Cathar looked at the council doors and Revan felt her apprehension.

"Juhani?" He asked her and she looked at him with nervous eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I… I have never been to the main council on Coruscant before." She said, her voice trembling slightly. "I do not know why they have asked Jolee and myself to be here as well as you and Bastila."

"My bets are on thanks for a job well done." Jolee said with a grin. The Cathar frowned and Revan gently put a hand on her shoulder. "Bout time the buggers acknowledged what we Jedi on the field are doing."

"I agree with Jolee, Ju. You've got nothing to fear from them." Revan said, as Juhani blushed at Jolee's comments in front of the female Jedi. "In fact, I think acknowledgement of what you did, how you helped me stay on the path of the light, is the least they should do."

"I did no more to aid you, than what you did for me." Juhani smiled slightly and Revan watched her relax a little. "Regardless, I shall obey the council."

"Careful Juhani." Jolee looked at her and waggled the coffee cup in a cautionary way. "Saying stuff like that can be dangerous. Look at me, a Jedi master now, thanks to Vandar. If I'd known at the time what that meant, well I'd never have talked to the little guy."

"Oh?" Revan grinned. "Afraid of training a group of Jedi wannabe's are we?"

"Huh, you've got no respect for me." Jolee grunted, taking a sip of his coffee. "I'm old damn it! I haven't got much time left for running around wiping young Jedi noses! If Vandar wanted to say thanks, all he had to do was point me in the direction of a good bar!"

"You love it really." Bastila said suddenly and Jolee turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, you like the way Revan talks to you, you hate people bowing all the time. Revan can be brash and you like that!"

With a grunt Jolee grinned. "Suppose I do, it's nice to see a Jedi who reminds me of myself." He wiggled his cup at her. "Nice to see someone else coming out of her shell too."

Bastila smiled and inclined her head. "It's good to be out."

"I see Revan's methods of persuasion agree with you." Jolee added with a smirk, before sipping his coffee quickly. Bastila's face turned red and Jolee looked at Revan with a grin. "Still, I suppose there's a lot left for you two to… discuss yet."

Juhani's face was a picture of puzzlement. She watched as Revan blushed and turned away from Bastila, his shoulders shaking slightly. Bastila, also having gone red, looked away from the old man. Looking at them, a sudden light finally dawned on the Cathar and her eyes widened in shock. "Oh, they were…"

"Fast, isn't she." Jolee said quickly and grinned at her. "I was as surprised as you lass. I mean, in the Jedi temple… on Coruscant?"

Revan and Bastila both simultaneously cleared their throats and Jolee shook his head. "Can't say I blame you, probably would have tried it myself at your age."

"Where _is _Mission?" Bastila asked, composing herself and changing the subject.

"Mission has returned to the Hawk," Juhani said quietly. "She was a… a bit shocked, but calmed down after we took her out to the gardens. Understandable really."

The doors to the council slid open slowly and a young male Jedi walked out and approached the group. Juhani slipped quietly into silence as he bowed.

"Master Bindo, Jedi knights Juhani and Revan and Padawan Shan?" A male Jedi, unnoticed by the group appeared at the doors. "Please come with me, the council awaits you."


	10. Revenant:chapter2:part five

Revenant:chapter2: part5

"Ah, Revan and colleagues." Vreik said softly as the troupe walked in. "Now that you're all here we can begin."

"What the… well, well," Jolee looked at the female council member next to Vreik and grinned. "Nomi Sunrider, it's been a long time."

"Hello Jolee, yes it has." Sunrider smiled at him and leaned forwards. "Tell you what, once the meeting is over would you care to meet up? We have a lot to catch up on."

"I'd love to. Living on Kashykk all these years has left me out of the loop as far as Jedi matters are concerned. But that's not why we're here is it?"

"No, but our decision does involve you master Bindo," Vreik looked at Revan and Bastila. Both stood close to one another, and he raised an eyebrow at the sight of Revan's left hand intertwined with Bastila's right. "The council has decided and we are ready to tell you all what must be done. Bastila, you must come first of course."

Bastila felt Revan gently tighten his grip, and she squeezed back gently. Looking at the council leaders, she stepped forwards.

"I am ready to accept your judgement masters. However, I ask that you be lenient as my fall to the darkside was at the hands of Malak, one of the most powerful Sith lords. I ask for the council to help me find my way once more, not to punish me as I requested earlier."

"I see you have come to your senses Bastila," Vreik murmured, a gleam in his eyes. "It is good you have, we were beginning to worry for you. Your fall to the darkside was due to many things, all of which were not in your power to have prevented. Indeed, there has been some discussion between us that you should be granted the title of Knight as has Revan and Juhani."

Bastila felt Revan gently touch her mind. "_Maybe the council isn't as dumb as I thought_."

"_Revan, really_!" She thought back, her tone scolding and she glanced to her right as he cleared his throat, trying not to laugh. Turning back, she bowed.

"I do not feel I am ready yet masters. I lack the emotional discipline to accept the responsibility."

"We would agree with you as far as the lack of emotional discipline. It has been pointed out… by someone not a million miles away, that you had rather a lot of overwhelming pressure placed on your young shoulders. To that end, we have come to a compromise."

"Compromise?" She asked, her head tilting slightly.

"We have decided that for the time being you will remain a Padawan, until the master we have chosen decides you are fully able to maintain the emotional discipline required of a knight. Once they are satisfied, you will be given the title of knight with our blessing and our thanks."

"Thanks?" Bastila looked at the small master with surprise and Vreik smiled.

"Yes young one. Despite your fall, you managed to accomplish more than even a master Jedi could have hoped on the mission assigned to you. Thanks to you, the starforge was discovered and destroyed and, more importantly, you protected your ward, Revan, at the expense of your following of the light." Vreik looked at Sunrider and Hieruk. "The council has also, with a majority vote I might add, found you innocent on all charges, especially murder. You are to be honoured Padawan Shan, something that will happen as soon as you have learned control."

"Heh. I'd hate to be the poor sod who has to teach _you_ emotional control, Bastila." Jolee said with a frown. He looked at her, shaking his head. "It's one of the hardest things to learn, harder to teach. It took me many years in Kashykk, to accomplish what control I have. No, I don't envy them at all."

"That may be a problem then, master Jolee." Sunrider leaned forwards in her chair and smiled at him. "We have decided _you_ will be the master assigned to Bastila. We have great confidence in your ability to teach her all she needs."

"Me?" Jolee looked at the council and Bastila turned red at his face, a mingled expression of horror and shock. "But… Me?"

"Thanks a lot. You make me feel really appreciated." Bastila whispered at him and he shook his head.

"Hey kid, I like you. You'll make a fine knight, hell, a fine master someday." She blushed at his serious tone. "But I'm not the one to teach you, really."

"On the contrary we think you're perfect." Sunrider grinned at him. "I remember a young knight who defied the council long ago and began to smuggle supplies to a planet… He lacked emotional control, despite his friends telling him he needed to learn. But it seems he's learned a lot since he left us…"

"Thanks a lot, Nomi." Jolee muttered and sighing looked at Bastila with a shrug. "Fine. It seems you and me kid, are going to be hooked together for a while. Just one thing, call me master, and I'll knot your arms behind your head. We've been through too much poo-doo for you to start doing that. I promise I'll sort you out in record time. We need Jedi such as you, Jedi who've seen the darkside, like Revan and Ju."

"Of course, Jolee." Bastila grinned at his face and turning back to the council bowed. "Thank you for your understanding and… thank you for your leniency." She said quietly, and Vreik nodded at her.

"We feel you have more than deserved it Bastila. Now," Vreik turned slightly and looked at Juhani. "Juhani, it is a pleasure to meet you finally."

Juhani stepped forwards and the Cathar's lithe body flipped into a deep bow.

"The honour and pleasure are mine master. I am confused, however, as to why I have been summoned to the council chambers as well as Revan, Bastila and master Jolee."

"Juhani, you were instrumental in aiding Revan in his quest to find and destroy the starforge. You stood with him at all times, even during the hardest. It is only fitting you also receive our thanks."

"I did only what the council on Dantooine bid me." She said shaking her head.

"That in no way diminishes what you accomplished alongside them, young Jedi. Indeed, master Vandar has asked that upon your return to Dantooine, you join him in training the students. I understand that he wishes you to assume master Zhar's role, to train them in sabre combat. Regardless, the council wishes to give you our thanks, your name will be forever inscribed into our history, as will the others, as a great Jedi of our order."

Juhani stared at Vreik with shocked pleasure and Revan nudged her slightly.

"Th… thank you masters." She stuttered, looking around the council in dazed pleasure. Vreik nodded and looked at the quiet Jedi standing next to Bastila.

"That leaves you, knight Revan. Unfortunately, the council is unable as you know to provide you with what you wish." Leaning forwards, his arm stretched out with a flourish. Revan took the small envelope held in his hand with a questioning look. "The envelope contains the… 'favour' you asked us for earlier. I hope this will go in some way to mending any rift between us?"

Revan sighed and nodded. "I… regret that I will never know what the discipline used to restore me actually did. However, I thank you for this and also for master Hieruk giving me the data about who Revan was before he fell." He looked up at Vreik and shrugged with a weak smile. "So, looks like you've got yourself a redeemed Jedi after all."

Vreik smiled and turned to Sunrider. With a wave of his hand, the old woman stepped lithely down from her chair and smiled at the assembled group.

"Actually, the council and the senate would both like to show their appreciation for all you've done. Despite some, ah, heated debates in the senate chamber, the majority has asked for your presence at the official victory gala being held tonight." She held out her hand to Bastila, who took the small wafer she held gently. "They would appreciate as many of your party being there as possible. We know Carth Onasi will be unable to attend, as will Zaalbar. They request, however, that the rest of your group attends, to officially receive the medals that Admiral Dodonna handed out on Rakatan… live on the holonet. Indeed, we understand that the public will soon know that it was you, Revan, who vanquished Malak. The council requests that you go, in order to demonstrate that you have been redeemed. Will you?"

Revan glanced at Bastila and cocked his eyebrow. "_Want to go? Dancing, drinking and people slapping you on the back_?"

Bastila looked at the wafer in her hand_. "Actually, I was hoping for a quiet fire, a soft bed and a certain Jedi to tuck me in…_" She looked at him, eyes sparkling, as his own widened in surprise. "_Still, I suppose we could do them a favour, for not mentioning or trying to wreak our relationship_."

Revan nodded and glanced at Juhani. The poor Cathar had a mixed set of emotions on her face. She obviously wanted to come with Revan and the others, but she hated large groups of people and that warred with her emotional control. Revan looked at her and gently placed a hand on her arm.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to. That's right, yes?" Revan asked, glancing at Sunrider, who nodded. "I don't intend to ask you to do something you don't want to, Juhani, and nor will they."

"No… I will come." Juhani said slowly. "I will have to get used to this sooner or later and besides, I would like to come."

"Great…" Revan said grinning. "Jolee?"

"Eh?" The old man looked up from the floor he'd been studying. "Me? Sure I'm coming. I need a stiff drink to cope with what they've just dumped on me." He glared at Sunrider, who just smiled serenely.

"Ahem," Vreik said from his chair and the group turned to look at him. "We also have decided the missions you need to go on after the party. Bastila, we ask you to go after the two weeks of leave you have requested."

"What missions do you wish us to undertake master?" Bastila asked, looking at Vreik politely.

"Republic Intel has informed us that the Sith 6th fleet is massing to assault one of our primary tabana gas facilities in order to steal it's production. As you know, we still have insufficient ships to go against them without your battle meditation." He looked at her as she slowly nodded in understanding. "We have four weeks until they move to attack. Dodonna is sending the Republic 8th fleet to defend it and would like you to be on the flagship. You and Jolee need to rendezvous with them two weeks from now, that should give you the time you requested from us and yet still give you time to move the fleet into position."

"Yes master."

"Revan?" Vreik turned to the Jedi, who calmly looked at him. "We have need of your skills also. Unfortunately, they will take you away from Bastila for quite some time. I must also apologise as the situation is desperate and we need you to go in three days."

Revan looked at Bastila and felt his heart flutter slightly. The look in her eyes mirrored his and he touched her gently. "_I don't want to go. Maybe we should run away together… we could do the fire, and bed thing."_

Bastila sighed, she knew he didn't mean that, he knew he had a duty as much as she did. She squeezed his hand. "_No, we can't escape our duty. I have to go and help the fleet and you have to do what they want. We'll have to wait until we meet up again to do what I wanted_." She looked at him, sorrow in her eyes. "_Being a Jedi is going to be hard if we're constantly separated like this_."

"_As long as we don't let it happen that often we'll be fine._" He assured her, wishing he felt more certain of it himself. "_Nothing will keep me from you for long, I promise you that_."

With a sigh he turned to Vreik and nodded at the small master. "Very well master, I understand. What is it that you require me to do?"

"The republic has been assembling small fleets of cargo ships recently, to transport supplies to Taris." Revan nodded, Mission would be pleased to hear that. "However, the Sith have started to attack the supply lines for their troops. The republic has lost four supply hauls in the past two days. Worse, the troopers they use are not just ordinary troopers, they are also using dark Jedi in the assault. We have been asked to support the republic and have decided to send you with them to ensure the cargo fleets safety. The aid to the survivors on Taris will dry up if we do not and the planet's remaining population will die. Be careful however, the reason we are sending you Revan is that the cargo haul has had our support already. We sent a group of Jedi with the most recent haul… none survived and the cargo shipment was taken, the ships destroyed. It is our opinion that the dark Jedi obviously have a master of great power with them, but no one has seen him or her. Protect the ships, the crew and the supplies. Remember though, a Jedi does not strike in anger."

Yes, master Vreik." Revan sighed and looked around. "Am I doing this alone?"

"No of course not young Jedi. Although Bastila and master Bindo are needed elsewhere, we feel Juhani should accompany you. Also, we are sure your friends on board the Hawk will be happy to come. The republic will reward them handsomely for helping protect the crew and cargo."

"Mission would do it regardless," Revan said, nodding. "However, Canderous may just feel this is worth his while. I'll ask him."

"Very well, young Jedi." Vreik looked at the group and bowed his head. "We will see you at the party, you may go with our blessing."

Revan turned to leave and then pausing at an empty chair looked back.

"Just one thing master, if I may." Vreik glanced up. Sunrider also looked at Revan as she sat down. "Where's master Telan?"

"Ah. She was one of the, rather small, group who felt we _should_ punish Bastila and subject you, Revan, to a war tribunal. She has left the council in protest over our decision." He sighed at Revan's puzzled expression. "Please do not judge her too harshly. Telan was one of the early victims of the war with Darth Revan. She was captured while on a mission on Korriban and tortured, although she managed to escape. However, what she saw, and was subjected to, have left her a little… conflicted. Despite this, she was and still is a capable council member, she just needs time."

"Yes master." Revan said, while part of him sighed inwardly. Poor Telan, another victim of his previous life's lust for power. Shaking his head he looked at Vreik and Sunrider. "We'll go and get ready with your permission."

Across Coruscant, near the industrial sector of the northern quadrant of the planet, lay the slum areas. Often forgotten, more usually ignored by the population of Coruscant in general, it remained a place of darkness. It's dripping alleys and rotting walkways, connected various rundown buildings and flats. It was a place where the police never went, and the local population avoided as much as possible. The local crime syndicates found it perfect, as did other groups who wished to avoid the authorities, to vanish.

Inside a small rotting flat, a female figure sat in front of a well-lit table. The lamp provided the only light in the room however, the rest of it was covered in dark shadows. In front of her lay a series of components, and in the middle lay a gleaming red crystal. With skilled hands, the figure began to assemble them slowly, pausing only when a tiny knock was heard against the door.

"Yes?" She said quietly. "Come in."

Her voice was calm, controlled. Yet, to the second female figure that opened the door and stepped into the tiny room, it filled her with dread.

"Master, I have news." In the shadows, only the voice gave away the arrivals fear. "News that you must hear."

"Really?" Leaning across to a small control remote, the figure at the bench raised the lighting sufficiently to see the others face and turned. She herself wore a dark red cloak with hood and the face underneath was shadowed despite the light. "And what would that be, Telan… my reluctant apprentice?"

"The… the council has seen Padawan Bastila Shan and Revan." Telan looked at the shadowy figure as she began to fiddle with the components on the table. "As we suspected master, they are romantically involved."

"I see." The red crystal was plucked by two gloved fingers and slipped into a small cradle. "I take it then, that you managed to have Bastila removed from the Jedi order? That was the sole reason for you being there."

Telan looked at her with fear and apprehension. Shifting her body weight so that her sabre hilt swung closer to her hand, she cleared her throat.

"N… no master." Telan swallowed, as the fingers paused in their movements. "It wasn't my fault! Revan was there, he somehow got Bastila to allow him to be honour bearer! I couldn't get through to the other council members with him standing there, calm and collected. He's totally changed and they saw that! Because of him, they've let her go on all charges. She's actually been thanked for helping him, despite her fall to the darkside!"

"Mm. You were supposed to stop that from happening, we knew that could be a possibility. "The female figure took the assembled crystal structure and slipped it slowly into a well tooled cylinder. "The Sith do not appreciate failure Telan, and you have failed."

"I know master." Telan swallowed and knelt down on one knee. "Forgive me I beg of you. It wasn't my fault! I couldn't have known how much support he would have from the leaders of the council, they tipped the balance in his favour."

"Do they know that you are working for us?" The assembled structure was turned upside down and the bottom gently unscrewed, power units added. "Do they know anything of our operations here?"

"No master, the discipline you taught me helped mask my allegiance to you and the Sith. Besides, my capture and abuse at Korriban helps explain away any unusual behaviour."

"Good." The figure picked up the now assembled sabre and with a gentle press, the blade snapped into existence. With a few swings, the figure nodded and turned back to Telan. "We will have to give them something to focus on, to lure them away from our true intent."

"Yes master."

The figure clipped the sabre to her belt and the gloved hands pushed the table away. Getting up, she walked across to Telan and reaching out, stroked her hair gently. Telan flinched at her touch, memories slipping into her mind, and the figure smiled.

"Where are they going to be tonight?"

"The senate of the republic is throwing an 'official' celebration party for them. They are going to be presented with medals of valour by the Chancellor."

"Interesting," Telan watched her stroke her shadowed chin. "Tell me, do you have an invitation? Do you have any clearance codes to this party?"

"I have been invited, master. Why?"

The figure stroked her hair once more and kneeled down to look at her shivering face. Telan looked at the terrible gleam in the dark eyes and wanted to turn away, but she found she couldn't.

"Well, I think it's time to prove your worth to me once more. I want you to give Revan and Bastila a little present from me. It will help mask our true intentions from anyone watching and will give you my favour once more."

"Me master?" Telan shivered again and looked at her. "What present?"

The figure grinned and leaning forwards whispered into her ear. Telan's eyes widened in horror and she looked at the cloaked figure with apprehension.

"Me? Please master I… I will do as you say but…"

"Good. If you accomplish your task, get back here… I will let you assume the role of apprentice officially, including all the power that comes with it."

Telan looked at her and felt the hunger for power swell in her breast. She nodded and the dark figure stood once more, waving Telan up with her hand.

"Go. Show them the power of the Sith, my apprentice."

Telan turned and walked quickly away from the figure and out the door. With a sigh, the Sith turned back to the small table and clicked the remote on it once more. With a gentle glow, a hologram of Revan at Rakatan flickered into existence. The newscaster that droned on in the background, announcing the redemption, ignored. Slowly the Sith woman kneeled down and feeling under the chair she had sat on, pulled a box gently from under it. With a gentle click the top slid open and she pulled the clothing inside it, out, with an appreciative look. Glancing once more at the figure of Revan, now joined by his friends, the Sith pulled the hood back. In the dark of the room, her red eyes gleamed.

"It begins Revan. It begins now."


	11. Revenant:chapter2:part six

Revenant: chapter2: part 6

"I hate parties." Revan grumbled. "Look at them, all staring at me as though I'm going to suddenly fry them all with force lightning!"

Bastila watched him, amused. The hall the senate had decided to hold the reception and victory party in was huge. Balconies ran around the walls in three tiers and the floor space was large enough to house the Hawk four times over. The party guests were numerous and the swirl of people mingling, laughing and chatting amused her as she felt the force swirl with various emotions. Reaching down to the table, Bastila plucked a couple of Denebian brandies from its wide selection and handed one to him. With a gentle sip, she felt the alcohol in the brandy warm her throat. She would have to limit herself, it wasn't the done thing for a Jedi to be drunk.

"The others are worse though. Eight people so far, heralding me as the greatest hero the Republic has ever seen! They seem to forget I'm Darth Revan, the most vicious Sith lord since Exar Kuhn."

"Were, Darth Revan." Bastila murmured at him absently, as she stared at a suspicious canapé in her hand. She got a look of annoyance in response and sighed. "What do you expect? I know it's hard, my love, but you'll just have to take it in your stride."

"Oh yes? Well then, mind explaining why I've had ten people asking me where the Lady Shan has gone? Wanting to congratulate her on helping me defeat the Sith, but she's nowhere to be found?" He grinned at her innocent expression and felt his own spirits lift. She always knew how to make him smile, especially with the bond working its usual magic. "Wish I'd thought of tactful mingling. Mind you, I suppose there's one person who feels more uncomfortable than me."

Bastila glanced across at the figure of Juhani standing against the wall of the reception hall. The Cathar's fur was raised slightly and her yellow eyes flickered around the large group of people, looking for potential threats.

"Maybe I should go and talk to her." She said softly, watching as Juhani backed away slightly from a group of senators wishing to congratulate her. "Yes, I think I should."

"Fine, go help Ju." Revan watched as another group of Senators wandered over to him, the woman leading the group had a determined expression on her face and he sighed. "I think at the moment I may be about to receive a less than enamoured party."

Bastila glanced across at the group and her eyes widened. "Maybe I should stay."

"No, I agree with you. Go help Juhani cope, before she either runs away or loses her temper. I'll be fine." Bastila nodded and quietly walked across to the Cathar, who glanced up with relief at her approach. Revan reached into his pocket and pulled a comm from it. "HK?"

"Query: Yes master?"

"Status report please."

"Statement: T3 and myself are occupying the security office as you requested master. I can see you and Bastila clearly on the security cams." The droid paused and a tone of longing slipped into his voice. "Do you wish me to activate the crowd suppression system on the group approaching?"

Revan sighed. "No. I actually called to tell you not to do that, and not to react to anything that happens in here okay? None of these people are here to kill me."

"Comment: An assassin, master, is unlikely to parade the fact that he or she is here to do so. Please tell me you are only drinking from unopened and randomly selected bottles."

"Yes. I'll also promise to be careful when I greet anyone, my sabre _is_ on my belt! Okay?"

"Reluctant supplication: Very well, I shall remain here and observe people entering the party instead, master. Will that please you?"

"Yes, thanks, HK. T3, keep an eye on him will you?"

"Beep."

"Annoyance: I do not need a smug garbage can as a chaperone master. I will obey your orders, as I always have!"

"Fine, fine. I've got to go." Revan snapped off the comm unit as the group finally reached him. He picked up his glass and watched as they bickered amongst themselves, before woman who had led them stepped up. She was human, in her mid thirties and had a hard face, softened by light blue hair.

"So. Lord Revan, yes?"

"I used to be Darth Revan once," He looked at her over the rim of his glass and sipped. "I'm Jedi knight Revan now."

"A Harket beast doesn't change its spots for long." The woman snapped and he sighed inwardly. "_Damn_." The woman narrowed her eyes at his lack of response. "I personally wish you to know that I, of the house of Terat, will not let you go unpunished."

"Really?" Revan looked at her and felt a twinge of guilt that made Bastila glance across from where she was calming a nervous Juhani and sigh. Revan shook his head and turned to the woman. "The discovery that I was once a mass murdering disciple of evil, who lost everything that he was, isn't enough for you then?"

The woman frowned at him and he watched her anger grow. "_Maybe that wasn't the best thing to say…_"

"_No. But then she's itching for a fight. Her planet, Mutrok three, was a victim of Revan's Sith forces… I should come back_." Bastila whispered in his mind.

"_Is Juhani calm enough to be left on her own? I can see another group coming towards her_."

"_No. I suppose I'll stay with her. Try to remain calm, she wants you to get angry… she's trying to prove you're still Darth Revan inside, getting angry will fuel her determination_."

"_You really are good at this negotiation stuff_."

"_I try my best. Be careful and stay calm_."

"_Yes, honey_." He thought and grinned at her slight, almost immediately banished, annoyance.

"I have to tell you, Revan that I was one of the senate members who voted for you to face war crimes." She looked at him, her body taking a defensive stance. "What do you have to say to that?"

"Well, you'd want me to face a war crimes tribunal who would have to fill me in about each crime? I don't remember anything about my past, a few flashes that wake me in the night sweating, a few tastes and smells that bring stuff back... but Revan is gone, I'm here now."

"I refuse to believe that!" She snapped, feeling her audience beginning to lose interest in the face of his honesty. "You wiped out my world! You were the most evil man in the galaxy, despite what you did before in the Mandalorian wars. I don't know how the Jedi trust you, I never will. I hate you and promise that I will someday see you on trial for what you have done!"

Revan sighed and looked at her with pity. "I'm sorry, madam,"

"What?" The woman asked in disbelief. "What did you say?"

"I said I'm sorry. It's all I have to give you, all I can give." She opened her mouth, an angry retort on her lips and he held up a hand. "I can't give you what you want, my regret at the destruction of your world. I can't, because I don't remember. For the last time, and please understand, I have almost no recollection of who I was. I am the Revan you see now, and it's who I will be from now on. Please believe me also, when I say I don't _want_ to remember what it was like being Revan." He glanced at Bastila and felt a lump in his throat. "He must have been a very lonely man…"

"I hate you." The senator said, looking away. " I hate you because you remind me of what I've lost. My father, my mother… husband."

Revan felt the lump in his throat grow and it was only the soothing balm of Bastila's gentle reassurance that made him stand there, that let him watch the senators sorrow.

"Revan?" He turned and found Mission standing there, her drink in hand, young face apprehensive. "What's go'in on?"

"Nothing, Mission. You don't want to be here." He watched her brow furrow, the kid was sometimes too smart for her own good. "Leave, Mish, I'll deal with this."

"How can you follow him?" The senator turned to her with a look of horror and her shoulders shuddered, almost as if she wanted to shake the young teenager. "I know all about you Mission Vao, I read your bio on the holonet. How can you follow the man who created Malak, the man who blew your home world into dust?"

Missions face darkened and Revan watched the young woman clutch the glass in her hand so tightly, that the stem snapped with a tiny cracking sound. He was about to pull her back from the senator, when she stepped forward.

"Listen up you!" The senator stepped back in surprise at Missions angry tone. "Revan is one of the few people who actually give a damn about me! Okay, so who he was turned Malak to the darkside, but he didn't have to carry on down the path! It was Malak who blew up my home, you're right there, but what did my Revan have to do with that? Nothing, it was all Malak's fault."

"That man blew up my home, young woman!"

"No! Darth Revan did. My Revan is not the same person, so back off or I'll smack you so hard you'll be in a med-bay for a month!"

"Mission, step away." Revan warned, watching the senator's face turn purple. "Go and see what Jolee is doing, will you?"

Mission stood, her young hands clenched into fists and ready to strike. Reaching out, Revan touched her shoulder and the young Twi'lek flinched slightly and looked at him. He cocked his head at her and with a sigh Mission nodded and backed off.

As Revan turned back to the irate and glowering senator, a sudden shiver in the force made him look up sharply. All his senses were screaming at him, warning of danger and he felt his hand flick to his sabre, much to the horror of the senator, who backed away from him at speed.

"What the…" She began and he ignored her.

A sudden feeling or horror and shock flowed into him from Bastila and he felt her sudden, urgent scream slam into him along the bond.

"_REVAN, DOWN_!"

The world to him slowed as his mind, jumping at Bastila's feeling of terror, slammed him into accelerated force speed. The senators body moved through time like toffee and Revan span, just in time to see a slow spinning red blur scything towards him, and in consequence, her. Turning back, he launched himself at the woman. Her face managed to register just a tiny tremor of shock before his weight slammed into her, knocking them to the ground. The blur, a sabre thrown with the force, whipped over his head and he felt the heat from it's energy blade, smelt the ozone from it's passage and heard the "vwhip, vwhip" sound as it span.

Bastila had also slipped into force speed and he saw her running even as the blade slipped past him. Her own dual bladed sabre ignited with a snap and he watched her fling it smoothly in a direct reversal of the red blade's passage, managing effortlessly to leap out the way as the blade smashed into a table of food, cutting it in half. Her yellow blur of a sabre zipped past his head, and he turned to follow its passage. It swung upwards into the first tier of balconies and a sudden scream echoed around the hall as a figure, clothed in black, fell… it's right arm missing.

Just as everyone heard the sickening crunch as the body hit the floor, the main doors to the hallway slammed open and a dozen Sith Jedi ran in yelling battle cries. Picking himself up off the floor, Revan's new dual sabre, built after the battle with Malak, snapped into life. Even as he ran up the steps to meet the Sith strike force, he felt Bastila next to him, her own blade whipping back into her hand from the balcony. A sudden familiar battle cry made him glance up, to see Juhani's lithe body whip past him in the air. Her own blade came slamming down into the body of one of the dark Jedi on the left and he crumpled with a scream.

Two came running towards him, and he concentrated on centering himself as their dark blades slammed onto his, fiery sparks crashing off his own as it deflected the lethal energy. A force push slammed one of them into the wall, and he concentrated on duelling with the other, even as Bastila moved to engage two trying to get behind him. The Jedi he fought was good, very good, but not nearly good enough. Using the skill he knew he possessed thanks to his former dark self, Revan parried and thrust equally to his opponent. A sudden mistake by the dark Jedi made him reverse his grip on the hilt and spin his own sabre in a flurry of energy. With a scream, the Jedi collapsed and he looked round to hear a similar cry from Juhani and Bastila's opponents.

Even as the Jedi they had fought collapsed, more attacked the two women, who calmly began to parry and thrust. Revan was about to assist Bastila, when another figure walked in from the doorway. Clad in black, a facemask covering its face, the figure pointed at Revan and ignited a dual sabre blade. The red glow hissed into the marble as it drew a battle line and taunted him. Slowly, carefully, he approached the figure and raising his blade, began to dance a dangerous ballet.

Their sabres smashed into each other with such force, that the sparks blasted off the blades in a massive shower. Revan dodged, as a cunning sweep from his opponent scythed where his heart had been, and he countered by parrying and flipping the blade upwards in a spin. The figure dodged backwards and Revan flipped his sabre against his opponent's once more.

With each parry and attack, the two Jedi, one dark one light, had to employ more and more cunning measures to catch the other off guard. Finally, Revan played his most cunning trick. He span his sabre in a circle in front of him, allowing it to act as a shield of sabre energy, as he walked backwards away from his opponent. Pushed back by the ferocious wall of energy, the figure also stepped backwards, raising its sabre in a defensive gesture. This was what Revan had been waiting for.

With a snap, one of his blades vanished and he dashed at his opponent. It raised its dual blade triumphantly in a vicious swing, designed to take off his head… he wasn't there. As the figure had raised the blade to swing it, Revan had slipped to the floor and slid along the marble surface on his knees. The single blade stabbed upwards, and met no defensive parries, as the figure was unable to turn the dual blades fast enough to block Revan's. With a scream that betrayed the figure as female, his opponent crumbled to the floor, a neat, cauterised puncture wound in the middle of her stomach.

Looking up, he realised that Bastila and Juhani had made short work of the remaining Sith Jedi, while masters Vreik and Sunrider also had a few bodies around them, Sunrider was clutching at her arm and Jolee was binding it gently with some ripped tablecloth. She sighed and gripped him for support, Revan grinned despite his exhaustion, trust Jolee…

A sudden movement made him look around, only to see one of the Sith Jedi picking up a fallen blaster from the floor. Even as the Sith pointed it in his direction, the snub nose of a blaster rifle poked the side of his head and the Sith looked up, into the glowing eyes of the red droid holding the gun.

"Statement: Go-ahead, meatbag… make my day!" HK looked at his master with concern, only relaxing as he got up and began to dust himself off. "Statement: I do not wish to appear smug master… but I told you so."

"So you did." Revan muttered and felt Bastila's hand curl around his. He looked at his soul mate with a smile, knowing from the bond that she was unhurt. "Well, this was quite a party, but I'm not paying to have the mess cleaned up."

"Who were you fighting?" Juhani asked, as Bastila smiled. "I've never seen skills like that, it was… quite astonishing, from both of you."

"I don't know." Revan kneeled gently in front of the still body, and began to tug at the mask. "I can only suggest we have a look."

He yanked at the mask unsuccessfully until Bastila pointed out a small clasp at the side. With a snick, it slid off the still form's face and Revan's eyes widened in shock, along with Bastila's gasp of horror. Juhani looked at the two of them, puzzled.

"What is it?" Her soft purring voice asked. Revan looked at her and his mouth opened, then closed again. "What? Do you know her?"

Vreik and Sunrider walked up with Jolee at that point and Sunrider gasped in shock.

"Telan?" She looked at Revan, at Vreik and clutched her arm tightly. "It was Telan who attacked us? Why?"

"I… I suppose she was in league with the Sith…" Revan shook his head, unable to cope with this. Suddenly, a thought struck him. "How much did she know about the mission the council wanted us to go on? How much did she know about Bastila's mission?"

"All," Vreik's voice was sad, filled with regret as he stared at the lifeless body. "She must have been turned at Korriban, a spy in the heart of the council. This really does smell as one of Darth Revan's ideas."

Revan sighed. "If she knew what we were going to do… No, the 6th fleet will still attack the gas mines, it's too tempting to pass, even with Bastila helping to protect the fleet." He thought for a second, his own tactical brain pondering the problem. "But I bet they have orders to attack the ship she was assigned to, no matter the cost. You need to change the flagship and have Bastila placed on that."

"And you?" Vreik asked quietly. "What about your mission?"

"I'm not leaving that cargo undefended. It's needed on Taris and that's where it's going. I'll be fine, I've got Juhani, Canderous, Mission and my loyal bodyguard." HK stiffened with pleasure. "No, I'll just have to be much more careful."

With a sigh, Revan looked at the body of Telan and felt things getting out of hand. Nudging the Lightsabre she'd used with his foot, he looked at his friends and then at the Jedi masters, the rest of the partygoers giving the group a wide berth.

"What the _hell_ is going on?"

"I'm going to miss you." He felt her unhappiness, her desire to be with him. "I so wanted to have some time with you before I had to go to the fleet."

"We'll see each other again soon, honey." Revan stroked the strand of hair that had fallen across her eyes. "I meant what I said, nothing will keep you from me for too long."

"I know," Bastila leaned into him and savoured his warmth. "But that doesn't mean that the days won't be agony."

The two of them stood outside the Hawk's loading ramp and the crisp morning air slithered around them. The Hawk had been moved to the Jedi temples launching platforms and stood battered but proud amongst the tiny fighters and transports. They had to go soon, the cargo haul was ready to go and that meant Revan and his crew had to leave. Bastila sighed. After the party, she'd hoped she and Revan would have some time for each other, but they'd both been exhausted. Revan had fallen onto his bunk fully clothed, and she'd joined him with a groan. It had been a full eight hours of sleep before she's stirred, to find him holding a cup of caffa in front of her with a sad smile.

"Morning Bastila. It's… well, two hours before we leave. I've got to get ready and help Mission stock the hawk's provisions. I'll… I'll leave you to freshen up."

He'd quickly walked out, obviously upset about leaving her and she'd drunk her caffa quietly, thinking. While she'd been in the Fresher, scrubbing her hair, she wondered how long it would be before they had a chance to get together again.

"Agony? Well, I'll just have to comm you a lot to keep it at bay," his voice dragged her back to the present and she smiled at him sadly. "Ah, don't look at me like that Bast, this is hard enough."

"Sorry, just thinking." She sighed and ran a hand across his chest. "When we get together again, can we… can we make our first night special somehow?"

"Special?" He smiled at her. "Well, we can try… what did you have in mind?"

"I'll let you know," She whispered kissing him. "When I can think of something, I'll tell you."

"I want at least two messages a week from you." Revan whispered, burying his face in her hair and smelling the spicy hair cleanser that formed part of her. "I'll do the same, I promise."

"Oh?" Bastila ran her hands along his back and then slightly lower, he grinned. "I'll keep you to that promise Jedi Revan."

"Rev, we have to go." Mission's voice echoed from the hawk's crew lounge. "The cargo hauliers are moving into position."

"Okay." With a final sigh, Revan bent forwards and kissed his soul mate one final time, feeling her exuberance at his kiss flow into him. "Damn it."

"Go." She whispered at him, pulling back. "I'll see you soon."

With a final touch of her hair, Revan walked up the walkway and was about to hit 'ascend and pressurise.' when a voice cried out from across the platform.

"Jedi Revan, wait! I have fresh orders from the council."

A young female Padawan ran up to the Hawk followed just as quickly by a less flustered female Master. Revan looked at them both and cocked his head.

"Yes?" He asked with a smile at her huffing face.

"I'm… I'm Selyne Hirana, I've been assigned to you as Padawan learner and aid to you during this mission." The young woman collapsed against the Hawk's metal body.

"Padawan?" Revan growled and glanced at Bastila, who shrugged. With a sigh he motioned for the young woman to come abroad and glanced at the master, as she too stood next to the Hawk's open hatchway. "And you are?"

"Jedi master Quatra. I've been assigned to assist you as well. The council does not feel you were safe enough without a master to assist you. I'm here to help you take on any Sith Jedi we meet, although it's still your show Jedi Revan."

"Quatra?" Revan said in surprise. "As in the Quatra who trained Juhani?"

"Why yes," Quatra smiled. "Do you know her? She can be a little quick to anger, but I understand someone helped her through that… although my knowledge is hazy, I've not been to Dantooine for ages."

"Well, this should be fun." He murmured, motioning her to come aboard. "If you want a surprise, I suggest you bunk in the rear compartment, we'll all get to know one another later okay?"

"Oh?" with a nod Quatra slipped past him into the Hawk. Bastila stood alone on the platform and she felt her eyes moisten at his face.

"Bye, my love. Take care."

"I will." He pressed the button and then as the hatch started to close and the Hawk whined into lift-off, threw a small envelope at her.

"A gift Bastila. A thanks for your love and support." As the hatch slipped closed, Bastila stared at the envelope and began to open it.

With a hum of power, the repulsars of the ship activated and it's bulk began to slide into the air. Bastila paid it no heed, for in her hand lay a credit chip and a small note. With shaking hands, she opened the small piece of paper.

For you, because I love you. Your mother and you have much to discuss, to catch up on and it's the least I can do. She needs a rare drug… she knows which one. It was so expensive she didn't want to tell you, as she was scared you'd bankrupt yourself trying to pay for it. This chip has enough to pay for the whole course. I don't know how long it will give her, maybe only a few months at the worst… but I hope it's enough time. Take care of yourself my love.

Revan XXX.

She looked up and watched the Hawk's bulk slowly begin to ascend into the atmosphere. Her eyes, already moist from his leaving her, began to trickle tears down her face, tears of joy. He knew she'd never have accepted this if he'd stayed so he'd left her no choice. As the hawk roared into full power and quickly vanished into a dot she smiled sadly.

"_Revan, I owe you for this_." She thought and felt his laughter in her head.

"_Owe me? Bast, you've given me you. What more could I possibly ask for_?"  
"_I can't take this, it's too much_!" She complained at him.

"_Uh, uh. That chip is coded for your personal bank account. Use it to help Helena, you've been through a hell of a lot lately. Take this gift and use it, please_."

"_Alright_." She sighed and felt his love for her warm her body. "_I don't know how I'm going to get this past mother though. She'll more likely kill you than hug you, when she finds out you gave me the money_."

"_Well, how else am I going to ask her for your hand in marriage later_?"

Her eyes widened with delight and she felt him touch her gently.

"_Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. Go, use the chip, and sort out your relationship with her. I've got to go_."

"_I love you with all my heart_." Bastila whispered finally, her hand clutching the chip tightly_. "May the force be with you, my love_."

"_Go. I'll see you soon. I love you too_."

With a gentle sigh she felt him pull back from the bond and it slowly whisper into a general group of emotions and life force. He would always be with her, but right now, she wished he were holding her.

Bastila looked at the spire of Shintaka hospital in the distance, and then at the chip with anxiety. How the hell was she going to explain this to her mother? Mind you, how dare she not tell her there was a possible drug that could help her. With a groan of reluctance, she tucked the chip into her robe and walked off the platform.

"Here we go…."

Continued in part 3- Purgatory of a traitor.


	12. Revenant:chapter3:Purgatory of a traitor

Revenant3- Purgatory of a traitor. 

Part one.

Sith base: Contara. Planet: Almania.

She has been here for... how long now? Maybe three, no it's been four... four weeks. Four weeks of pain and suffering, and there's more to come. She looks up at the filthy ceiling of her cell and sighs, she wishes she could see the stars... Her voice is deep, melodious and full of strength, even now as her mind pulls the pieces back together.

"So powerful, I was so powerful." She remembers the power, the fear she wielded. "With passion comes? Pain... yes, pain and suffering if you let it, terrible pain. I should never have listened to... to who?"

She frowns, it's so hard to remember anything now, her mind has been assaulted by Jedi apprentices for so long. She remembers the feeling of power, then regret and pain. She wonders what it all means.

"There is no emotion? But why... emotion can be powerful. Love, regret, and compassion are good. I wish they gave me compassion, it hurts so much when they use me, _and he_ always hurts me so much more. I should have listened to... no, I did listen to him. They attacked and I defended. Why I wonder? I was so full of anger, rage and hatred for them, slavers... they deserve to die, all of them. So why did I choose to stay?"

She hums to herself and gazes around at the tiny cells walls, the cuffs are biting into her flesh, the metal causing her skin to bleed, but that's okay. The pain tells her she's still alive, still capable of feeling.

"Did I seek forgiveness? From... who? I wish I could remember, but I can't... Revan!" She leans forward and her eyes are bright in the dark gloom. "Revan, that's who made me leave. He offered redemption. Why did I take it? For me I suppose, I wish it had been nobler... Oh! I did it for the slaves, for those I need to save. With all my power I could have helped, but I forgot. Why?"

She hums for a while, monotonous and low. She wonders who she was, but there are so many pieces of her mind scattered. She knows she's insane and so she nurtures the one piece of her that isn't shattered, guards it. Her name, who she is, can pull the rest back... she knows this and is waiting for the right time.

A sudden click makes her sit upright, fear and pain flow through her and she looks at the Sith coming inside. It's him! His very presence makes her sick, the energy flail he carries is even more frightening.

"It's time traitor, time for punishment. Then, afterwards, I've been paid by two lovely young Sith girls." He grins at her and she flinches. "They want to see what it's like making love to a woman held in a force choke. I suppose you'll do."

"I saw her again last night," she mutters at him and he looks at her, frowning. "I saw her cut you down, you tried to hurt me and she stopped you! So pretty, so calm and determined. The eyes... they're deep, alien in nature and yet so lovely and passionate. I don't know who she is, but I could love her."

"Whatever, fool. She won't come for you. Who would want to rescue a Sith traitor and whore? Especially now that I know what you really like, you hid it well from Uthar and the students...."

"I hate you, sick Sith!"

He laughs at her and the flail in his hand snaps into life. Her screams are ignored, her mind elsewhere... She's coming, she can feel it and with her love comes a man. He will defend her and she will save her.

"The light is coming, no more shadows... I will be free to walk my own path, I want to follow the light." She yells and he strikes her harder for that. She ignores him, the pain and focuses on the thought of peace, she can hold on for her, she will. "_I want to be a Jedi again..._"

The Ebon Hawk.

"Juhani..." Jedi Master Quatra halted in the doors to the Ebon Hawk's bunkroom and stared at her young apprentice in surprise. Inwardly she cursed, would it really be that hard to take advantage of the holonet now and again. She wondered how long everyone else had known Juhani was a hero of the Republic. "Well, well. I've missed you."

"No, I do not believe it..." Juhani, her Cathar body tensing slightly, looked at the figure who walked into her quarters on the Ebon Hawk and gasped. "M... Master Quatra!"

Quatra, regal in her dark red Master's robes, gazed at Juhani from light green eyes and smiled. Juhani felt her heart flutter, she was as beautiful as she'd remembered. The face, the eyes, her cascading white hair, all the same as she could recall. She cleared her throat and Quatra smiled softly.

"You're looking well Juhani, very well indeed. How have you been my dear?"

"Well, I fell to the darkside," Juhani watched as Quatra slipped her bag onto one of the bunks against the wall and gazed silently at her. "That would be enough to put a crimp in anybody's day."

"Humour?" Quatra looked at the Cathar with a faint smile. "Well, well. Things _have_ changed since I last saw you."

Juhani wished her own mouth would curve into a smile. But she couldn't help but feel awkward in her Master's presence. Quatra sighed.

"I... I suppose I should apologise before we do anything else," She looked at the young Cathar with a feeling of guilt. "It must have been hard on you, to be exposed to the darkside without any warning."

"I am the one who should apologise, Master." Juhani, her back stiff, stood suddenly. "I...I struck you in training, I wanted to kill you in anger. I can never apologise for that, my Master. I know you made it into a test, my test against the darkside. I can accept that, but I... find it hard to deal with."

"Hard to deal with what I did, what you did or how I goaded you to listen to the darkside's whisper?" Quatra watched her silently and shook her head. "I never meant to make you angry Juhani. I... I should have been much more gentle."

"How could you have been?" Juhani shivered and looked at her Master with embarrassment. "I should never have told you that I... I found you attractive. It was wrong and stupid of me."

Quatra sighed, this was going to be a long mission. Her young ward had grown, she could tell, grown in wisdom and understanding as she had followed Revan. But still, Juhani was young.

"Wrong maybe, we were student and teacher... stupid?" she looked at her and tilted her head. "Do you think it is stupid to be honest about yourself to other people? No Juhani, I should have been in greater control of my own emotions." Quatra sighed. "I should not have been so rude and I should definitely not have used it against you. It was wrong and I was the one who acted stupidly."

"No, it was my fault..."

"Juhani. Please, just listen to me." Juhani stuttered into silence and looked at her Master's anxious face. "I was shocked when you told me you found me sexually attractive. Silly really, I knew about your friendship with Belaya, so I shouldn't have been surprised. The bond formed between student and teacher is complex Juhani. If you wish, I would still like to treat you as a close friend and my best student, just not how you would wish it. I'm sorry if that's not enough for you..."

Juhani looked away and felt her own emotions conflict inside her. It was so good to see Quatra again, but it brought back bad memories. She didn't want to remember how Quatra had used her crush against her, how she had goaded her into anger as they fought. It made her feel like nothing more than an animal, subject to her passions not her rational mind... But it was so good to see her; even after all that had passed between them. She looked at Quatra with a sigh.

"I... I want you to know how hard it was to cope." She turned away, stared at the bulkhead. "The feeling of anger at what you said, the guilt when I struck you down and the regret after. I stayed in the grove for weeks after, tormenting the Kath hounds with my negative emotions, driving them mad."

"Juhani..."

"Then I met Revan and he brought me back. Now of course, having found out the truth, it is a sweet irony. The fallen, amnesiac Jedi helped redeem the fallen, foolish Cathar. I suppose the universe has it's own sense of humour. So, I thought maybe I should develop my own." She turned back, saw Quatra looking at her with regret. "I would like to have you at my side Master, as learned student and teacher. I would like that very much."

Juhani smiled slightly and Quatra bowed her head.

"You have been one of my best pupils Juhani, especially against the lure of the darkside. Despite all that I did to you, you were willing to return to the light when shown the path." She touched the Cathar gently and Juhani's eyes closed, as her fingers lightly caressed the fur on her arm. "I am proud of you, as proud as your mother and father would be."

Juhani nodded, her heart fluttering at the memory of her parents, and Quatra pulled her hand slowly back. As Juhani's eyes slid open once more, pupil regarded Master with affection, and smiled.

"Just out of interest, did my overly harsh lesson help in any way?" Quatra asked, a slight smile playing across her lips that lessened the impact of her words. Juhani tilted her head. "Did it help you resist the darkness inside you? Did it help stem the anger and rage, that we all possess but you far more, from overwhelming you?"

With a shrug, Juhani gazed at her, and then sat gently at the table. She looked up at her Master with uncertainty.

"Harsh as your lesson was, it prepared me far better than you could have hoped Master. I... I met the man who killed my parents, who tried to enslave me."

This was news to Quatra. "Did you... did you kill him Juhani? Your temper was always your own worst enemy to finding the peace a Jedi needs."

"I am a Cathar, I have strong emotions I do not deny that. Nor do I deny that when I saw him, when he goaded me to strike, as you once did, the temptation was there." Quatra held her breath, Juhani's face was dark with recollection. "But then, I remembered you, what I did. I remembered the council, my mother's own warnings after my father had died. Most of all, the thing that helped me resist Xor's presence, was Revan. He stopped me, he was calm and reminded me of the code and my duty... he told me I was better than any thought of vengeance. I agreed, I am. So I left Xor alone, and the universe took away his life for me. I was upset I did not deliver the killing blow, but it would have been wrong. I accept that now, and I am glad I did not strike. I am a Jedi now."

"Yes you are, Juhani." Quatra breathed in relief, her pupil had become a fine Jedi knight and she was proud of her. "So, what's been going on here? I come back from a training session on Breik, and I'm immediately packed off to the Hawk. There, I find Revan, now a redeemed Jedi of all things, about to blast off into the stratosphere. What is going on? Why do they need Revan, you and myself? Two knights, a Padawan and a Master... we'll certainly be drawing attention to ourselves. All the council said was to assist Revan and prepare to battle any dark Jedi. What is going on, Juhani?"

"We are to escort a relief convoy to Taris, Master. The first cargo haul vanished without trace. Recently, the council has sent groups of Padawan's to guard the previous two cargo hauls. All have died, along with the troops and most of the crews. The cargo was stolen and the ships reduced to junk. According to republic Intel, the blaster marks are of a Sith interdictor. We are here to stop the cargo being stolen again."

"What could kill a group of Padawan's?" Quatra's face creased at the thought and she looked at the Cathar with concern. "They may be the youngest of our order, but they are Jedi nonetheless."

"Master Vreik and the council believe that the troops being used are dark Jedi. Worse, they may have a Master of some power with them. That is why we are here, Revan especially, for he is the strongest Jedi among us. Together, we should be able to hold our own and finally discover, and stop, this menace. It will be a worthy cause," Juhani looked towards the cockpit and frowned. "Mission is my friend, I will ensure the supplies reach her stricken home world, no matter what!"

"I see. Well, I'll be there with you Juhani, together again." Quatra got up and walked towards the crew lounge, casting a glance at the regally sitting Cathar. "It's so good to see you again."

"It is good to see you once more Master. It is even better to know that we can be... close friends," Juhani looked at her Master with her soft yellow eyes and sighed. "I have missed your wisdom and guidance."

"Yes well," Quatra turned back to the corridor, hid her blush at the knights' confidence in her. It would have given Juhani the wrong idea. "Time to introduce myself to Jedi Revan and the rest of your crew. I'm also interested to find out about Padawan Hirana. She's new, but she told me a few things."

"A Padawan?" Juhani stood smoothly and strode softly to stand next to her. "I too would like to meet her. Revan did not wish one placed on him by the council, did they say why they have gone against his wishes to you, Master?"

"Quatra, Juhani. You're a knight now, not a student. I don't mind you calling me by my name." She looked at Juhani's uncertain face and sighed. "Although if it makes you feel better, you can call me Master still."

"No, if you wish, Quatra it is." Juhani looked at her for a second. "_So beautiful_" she thought and then cleared her throat, this was going to be a challenging mission. "So, did they say anything to you?"

"No, but then it was busy at the chamber. Something big had happened, that I could tell. Although they didn't say what." Quatra gazed at her friend. "Do you know what happened at the reception?"

"Yes, I was there. Someone called Telan attacked the republic victory celebrations. We managed to hold her and her dark Jedi off, but it was close. Revan, Bastila and the council seemed quite shocked by it."

"Telan? _Master_ Telan of the council!" Quatra stood back and looked at Juhani in horror. "She attacked Revan and the senators? In the name of the force, why?"

"I do not know," Juhani shrugged slightly and turned to the hatch. "Revan may have some idea, I suggest that you ask him while we are there meeting this new Jedi."

"Hey, Rev, the cargo hauliers are forming up. D'you think we're late?" Mission leaned out of the pilot's seat and observed the huge cargo ships floating in space. "Wonder why we're on this hyper trajectory... this leads to Alderaan, not Taris."

"Mission, I suggest you pay attention to your flying!" Revan winced as the Hawk flew dangerously close to one of the huge vessels and Mission flipped her over the top of the crew compartment. Revan swore he could almost see the Pilot of the vast ship through the Hawk's cockpit, he certainly felt the pilot's anger. "If you want to be allowed to fly this ship ever again, young lady, you'd better not pull anything like that again!"  
"Hey, less of the young." Mission sniffed and righted the Hawk slowly. "I'm only having some fun for Rancor's sake, stop getting your Jedi robe in a bunch!"

"Mission!"

"Okay, okay jeez!" She looked at his white face and grinned. "I actually scared a Jedi, neat!"

"Scared, no. Annoyed, yes!" He frowned at the young Twi'lek and shook his head. "_No emotion, only peace. Be calm."_

"Bastila's rubbing off on you. Ya sounded just like her then, Rev." Mission looked at him in mock horror and then, slyly added. "You know how she is, no fun at all. Well, unless you're Jedi Revan and she wants to play hide the... ow!"

Revan glanced over to see her rubbing her left lekku and a curse escaped her young lips. With a snarl, Mission reached down and picked up the emergency light emitter that had fallen from the pilot's upper locker. She glared him.

"Hey, that's not funny! You really _are _picking up her bad habits!"

"It wasn't me okay?" Revan glanced across as he took control of the Hawk and slipped it into an escort pattern. "I _promise_ you, Mission, I didn't use the force at all, it probably came loose during your "acrobatics" display. Consider it the force acting through the locker, telling you to behave."

"Go kiss a Sith, Rev!" She muttered and he grinned.

"Did once, prefer a certain Jedi. She tries so much harder." Mission groaned and shot him a glance.

"Don't you ever get tired of having a quick mouth?"

"Do you?" She smiled at that and coughed, trying not to laugh. Revan smiled slyly at her.

"No. It kept me alive in the Taris slums and kinda helped us now and again in the past few months. Thanks by the way," She turned to him and her young face was suddenly serious. "I know I blew up in front of that Senator, but I meant what I said about you ya know? I have a mouth on me... I know that. But, but it's hard to say this Rev. Thank you, for rescuing me from Taris, taking me with you and letting me well... be part of something like_, really_ big. Thanks, and I... I owe you tons."

"No problem Mission," Revan smiled softly, glancing quickly down as the navicom beeped confirmation of their escort pattern. "You're a valued crewmember and a close friend. I'll always be there if you need help."

"Because of the code of the Jedi? I'll help keep you on the light side of the force?" She teased him and he sighed, smiled.

"No, because you're a friend... Jawa breath."

"Ow, lame."

He grinned at her and stood from the co-pilots seat. With a double check of the system status panels she turned and flicked the Hawk to full auto. They felt the engines settle into a standby whine as the computer waited for the convoy to move out. Turning, Mission cocked her head.

"Okay, so what am I gonna do for a few hours?" She grinned and flipped out her Pazzak deck in an obvious challenge. "Wanna try me? I'll let you go first."

"Mission, how well do I know you?" Revan shook his head and she sniffed in disappointment. "You cheat, short stuff. Last time it was using the monitor behind me to see my cards, so no thanks." He looked to the rear of the ship for a second and then back at the young Twi'lek. "Besides, I intend to find out about this Padawan of mine. I didn't ask for one, typical of the council."

"Eh?"

"They don't listen to anyone." He said flatly at her and Mission frowned. "I don't want a Padawan, because I'm still trying to cope with being an ex Sith lord, damn it. So they give me one, why? The last thing I need is a Padawan, desperate to hear my tales of adventure, hanging around my shoulders and being a pain."

"Really?" A female voice rang into the cockpit and Revan and Mission turned to see Quatra standing there, Juhani behind her. "That's a _very_ Jedi viewpoint I must say."

"Thank you." Revan said dryly, his own irony clashing with hers. "I have enough on my plate right now, just being me. Bastila's gone, many of my friends are gone and a member of the council I'm supposed to trust has attacked me. For them to give me her, well... I'm worried I won't be able to give her what she needs and that they're not listening to me."

Quatra looked at him thoughtfully and pursed her lips. "The hardest thing I ever had to do as a knight, was take on a Padawan. It is a great test of your own personality and beliefs in the Jedi code. However, if the council have given you a Padawan then they must feel you're ready."

"Well I'm not. Besides, I know why you're here officially. But this all seems a little convenient. The Master who trained Juhani, who seems to know very well the lure of the darkside... she just happens to be assigned to help me."

"The force works in mysterious ways." Quatra said flatly, and he gazed at her.

"Possibly, but I've said it to Bastila and I'll say it again. I do _not_ trust the council, I never will and I will always think for myself. Sending you along might be their way of keeping tabs on me... but I'm not going to let it interfere with my life."

"I am here to aid you on your mission young man. Once that's done, if you wish I will leave you and your friends. I wanted to go back to Dantooine anyway, for some relaxation and meditation. Now, I've been given another mission because we are so few." She sighed and shook her head. "I am pleased to have been reunited with Juhani, proud to see the Jedi she has become and I owe you my thanks for helping her to achieve that. So, I swear to you as a Jedi Master, the council has not sent me here to keep an eye on you! All I am here to do is assist in protecting you, while we perform this mission."

Revan glanced at Juhani, she was quiet and watching them with anxiety, obviously upset that her two friends were clashing. He glanced back at Quatra and gazed at her slowly. It was obvious, from her body language and force aura, that Quatra was telling the truth.

"Okay fine," He shrugged and looked at Juhani's Master with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, it's been a busy time recently and I was a bit surprised to find out that I was once the most feared man in the galaxy."

"Well, just so long as you don't decide to strike me down, we'll get along fine." Revan had to laugh at that and Quatra smiled slightly. "I must admit Revan, you aren't anything like I expected." She glanced at Juhani's face and then turned back to him. "I never actually met you on Dantooine, so all I knew were the tails told by some of the Republic soldiers during the Mandalorian wars and then during the start of the Sith war. I'm glad to see that you're more like you used to be, a hero for the republic."

"I am not a hero!" He said with a frown. "All I did was what the council wanted. Then, when I found the truth, all I wanted was to undo some of the damage and rescue Bastila. That's it! The heroes you want? Look around, they're all around you."

"I see," Quatra nodded and smiled. "Well done, you pass the test."

Revan's face darkened and Juhani made a gentle 'take it easy' motion behind her, she knew Quatra's eccentricities better than anyone did.

"A test?" He sighed as she nodded, and shook his head. "I'm getting fed up of these... tests people keep setting."

"Well, that's the only one from me. It's good to know that you're sharing the glory with your friends. Pride is dangerous for a Jedi and besides, without them you might not have succeeded."

"Without them I probably _would _have turned to the darkside." Revan admitted. "Bastila was hard to resist. It was only the fact that Juhani and Jolee were there that helped me cope."

"Well, I'm glad you managed to bring Bastila back to the light, as you did with my apprentice, especially when I hear she sacrificed herself for you." He looked away for a second and winced. Quatra scolded herself. "_Touched a nerve."_ She thought.

With a sigh she touched him on the shoulder. "I owe you for dealing with my mistake, the mistake of betraying Juhani, making her give in to her anger during combat. It was difficult for her to let go of the guilt and anger, I thank you for bringing her back to the Jedi."  
"She did it herself, Master Quatra." Revan turned back and looked at Juhani with a small smile. She blushed. "I am very proud, in a Jedi way of course, to have Juhani as a friend and colleague. I am honoured to have the person who trained her at my side as well."

"Yes well," Quatra shook her head, a faint grin on her face. "I see your charisma is still as strong as the people I talked to remembered it. I'll let you in on a secret Jedi Revan."

"Just Revan, please."

"Very well... Revan. Anyway, I must admit I'm also surprised that the council has given you a Padawan as well."

"Master!" Juhani said in surprise, looking at her. "Revan is more than capable of training a..."

"I know that Juhani and I agree," Quatra said, waving her hand gently. "What I mean is I'm surprised that they've sent her along, considering all the Jedi who have died already. Together, I believe the three of us can stand a chance against whatever or whoever is attacking the cargo. However, I'm unsure if Padawan Hirana will be a help or hindrance on this mission, through no fault of her own."

"Well, I suggest we ask her." Revan said with a look towards the crew annex. "Everything's been a bit hectic since takeoff, I want to know more about my new charge."

HK47 watched the young woman sitting at the Hawk's crew lounge table with silent attention. She sat primly, examining her lightsabre and adjusting it carefully with tiny tools. Without moving, HK began to enter her biometrics data into his memory... age, muscle mass, height, weapons ability, estimated skill with said weapons and force ability. He was thorough that way.

She was a Teirandru, estimated age of 28. She had dark red hair, tied up into a flaming single ponytail. His sensors recorded a height of 1.8 metres in height and a muscle mass of 6.3 (Jedi basic). Sabre hilt heavily worn, suggests high use... crystal emitter: high and fast blade, high bolt deflection and moderate damage.

"Stop looking at me and my weapon, especially in that way, please." Selyne muttered suddenly at him. As HK watched, Selyne yanked a small tool from the repair bench without looking up from her sabre. "I know all about you HK47, you're a body guard for Revan and I am his Padawan. Padawan's, for your information, do not attack their Masters."

"Rebuttal: Incorrect. Malak was Revan's apprentice, when Revan was Sith lord. Malak attempted to have Revan killed and I was not there to protect my Master. Now with Telan, a Jedi Master, also attempting to end my Master's life, I will not make the same mistake twice. Padawan or not, you will remain a high priority threat until Master Revan says otherwise. I take no chances with my Masters health, Jedi meatbag."

"So polite." Selyne looked up from her modifications and gazed at the blood red droid. "Tell me, how come Revan keeps you active? An assassin droid is not something I'd expect a Jedi to keep."

"Query: Assassin droid? I am HK47, a high-level translation droid. I have also been programmed to give Revan combat assistance, as much as my low threat level allows of course."

"Yeah, right," She shook her head in amusement, the thing had absolutely no ability at lying. "A translation and communication droid, who just happens to have armour that, if I'm not seeing things, is cortosis weave enhanced. Oh and here's a tip, a translation droid does _not_ know how to hold a rifle that way."

"Nice to see my new Padawan is observant, I'm beginning to like you already." Revan walked into the crew annex with the three women behind him. The Jedi's sat together at the main table while Mission wandered across to a wall chair and threw herself in. "So, give me the low-down."

"On what, Master?" Selyne looked at him politely.

"On you, and why they've stuck me with you."

"Are you saying I'm an inconvenience?" She bristled ever so slightly. "I had many Jedi to choose from, Jedi Revan, after my own died on Dantooine! I chose you because I foolishly thought I could learn from the hero of the Star Forge!"

"I didn't say you were an inconvenience, Seleyne," Revan placed a hand on her shoulder and she glanced at it. "All I want to know is why, after I asked them not to, they've given you to me as a Padawan. It's got nothing to do with you either," He added. "I have my own problems still, and I have to deal with them before I can help you learn the path."

"I have been sent to you as a Padawan learner Master, that's all I know. I was instructed to assist you with the mission you are on."

Revan huffed out a breath and nodded. He wasn't surprised as such, mainly due to the fact that Telan's betrayal had obviously shaken Vreik and Sunrider. Given that it had been he who was the target, they were trying to provide him with backup. At least he hoped that was the idea. For just a second, he wished Bastila were here to give him advice on how to deal with his new charge. She wasn't, and he had to deal with this himself. With a sigh he smiled at Selyne and held out her hand.

"Well, glad to have you aboard, and its Revan thanks, not Master."

"Yes m... Revan." Selyne grinned and looked at the Cathar standing slightly away from her and Quatra. "So, what would you like to know?"

"How about a little bit about yourself?"

"Okay. My name is Selyne Hirana and, as you can tell, I'm a Teirandru. I come from Tattooine. Well, I was born there to a slave dancer, and I am very happy to be away from that planet. My father was a mercenary, he made my mother pregnant when attending a party for a criminal boss. When he executed her for her refusal to have me terminated, my father actually took pity on me and paid for a Twi'lek dancer he knew to raise me. I came late to the force, much like you, Revan. I only found out I was force sensitive when I was attacked by muggers intent on... persuading me to let them have some fun. It wasn't fun for them when I force pushed them into the wall face first. What passed for security there, thought I had knocked them out. However, a Jedi who was going to try and talk, again, to the sand people, realised what I had done. Maybe she felt the energy I expended to knock them out... I don't know. She suggested I come to the enclave on Dantooine with her. I did and despite my age, due to the loss of Jedi I've no doubt, they offered to train me as a Jedi. Just as I was about to undergo my final months of preparation to become a Knight, the Sith attacked and killed my Master"

She stopped for a second and shuddered at the memory, Revan, joined by Juhani and Quatra, winced as he felt her pain through the force. He probed gently. "So, what happened?"

"So with my Master dead I came to Coruscant, with a large portion of the remaining Jedi, and here I've been. Eventually I was summoned to the council and offered a set of Masters to be my sponsors for the tests... but I wanted you, Revan. I felt that you would be the Master I needed, so I asked for you. They granted my request and so here I am."

"Personally, I think you're an idiot." Revan grinned at the shock in her face. "Why would any Padawan want to learn from an ex lord of the Sith? Or do you wish to learn how to tap into the darkside?"

"Revan!" Juhani and Quatra both admonished. One who didn't know him well with a worried tone, one that did, and knew his sense of humour, with a scalding one.

"What?" He glanced at Juhani's face and sobered, she really wasn't amused. "Sorry, sorry. Selyne, why did you ask me to be your Master? I have such little experience with the force."

"Because you defeated Malak and Bastila!" Selyne began and froze as Revan's face darkened. "I mean, you defeated Malak and brought Bastila back to the path of the light. I wanted to learn from the best, and I think you're one of them."

"No, I can think of many Jedi I would consider better Master material than me Selyne. One's sitting not a million miles from you now." Revan gestured at Quatra who shook her head.

"I have enough on my plate at the moment thank you. My Padawan is waiting for me on Dantooine, seems he'll be waiting for quite some time too."

"Well then, what about Master Vrook, Vandar... hell Sunrider! She may be a council leader but she's obligated to have one, and I think she hasn't right now." Juhani stifled a smile at Revan's desperate tone. "You don't want a screwed up mess like myself as your Master, especially one who is doing something that the code frowns upon."

"Master?"

"I'm in love with Bastila, something the code of the Jedi frowns upon, as they keep trying to tell me. So, pick someone else, and it's Revan!"

"Sorry Master, the council has accepted my request for you to be my tutor, I can't ask for another until we return to Coruscant or Dantooine." She smiled at him sheepishly. "I'm afraid that you're stuck with me."

"Well, just remember to ignore everything I say and to only listen to Quatra and Juhani, you should be fine if you do that."

"Yes Master."

"And for the last time, it's Revan!"

"Yes Revan," Selyne tried not to smirk and looked at the two Jedi and a small grinning Twi'lek standing next to him. "Care to introduce me to your crew?"

Revan smiled weakly and, with a nod, began the introductions.

Shuttle heading towards flagship of republic 4th fleet. (Two and a half weeks later)

The shuttle hurtled through the flashing tunnel of hyperspace as fast as it's engine could push it. The pilot knew that his charges were important to the fleet he was assigned to, the Admiral had made it quite clear that they had to be delivered on time and safely... Something he intended to do. He knew they were Jedi, anyone who saw the swinging sabre hilts on their belts would have realised that, but he knew even more. The lady Bastila Shan, hero of the republic and a fleet Commander too. He had always wanted to meet her, and now he was bringing her to his flagship. The other Jedi was unknown to him, but he wore a Jedi Masters robes and he quite liked the old man. With a sigh he reached for the intercom.

"Five minutes until normal space, please prepare for reception."

"Well, here we go." Jolee sat watching the swirl of hyperspace through the guest quarters windows. "Five minutes till we drop into normal space kid. Hope you're ready."

Jolee looked at Bastila and sighed inwardly. The kid was now 'his' Padawan and it scared him. He'd never wanted to train any more Jedi and every time he looked at her, he thought back to how close Revan had come to losing her as he had Nayama. It made him worry, a lot. It was up to him to teach her emotional control, as the council had said repeatedly. His problem was that he didn't think their method would work for her. She was wiser now, much wiser when it came to the lure of the darkside, but she was still susceptible to her darker emotions... he had to help her to cope, to face and handle her emotions before Revan and she were placed in the same situation once more.

"Hey kid, you hear me?" He looked at her, turning from the window and watched as she span her sabre slowly around in the air. "_Revan's trick, oh dear... should have seen this coming you old fool, she misses him._" He sighed and walked across to her. "Bastila did you hear me? Are you ready to save the republic once more?"

"I suppose so," Bastila twiddled her lightsabre and it fell into her lap, she sighed. It had been an agony to leave her mother on Coruscant, especially when she'd begun to look so much better. The argument beforehand though, about Revan paying for her treatment... _that_ she could have done without!

"I am NOT having the treatments!" Helena almost shouted at her daughter. "I told him not to bother!"

"Yes well, Revan never does what anyone tells him. Mother, please..." Bastila hung her head, the chip biting into her palm. She had never been able to really stand up to her mother and now was no different.

"No! Your young man is a fool; he could use that money to ensure my daughter has a comfortable life. He shouldn't be wasting it on me, there's no guarantee it'll work!"

"Mother..."

"Bastila, will you please do as you are told!" Helena, pale but red faced with annoyance, leaned forwards and took her daughters hand. "Take the money put in your account and use it for something you want badly. I know Jedi don't hold with material possessions but there must be something you want."

"Yes..." Bastila's voice was small and she looked up at her mother with liquid eyes. "I want to have my mother with me for as long as I can, because I've foolishly wasted so much." Helena sighed and felt her annoyance plummet into her stomach. "Oh Bas..."

"Mother please," Bastila looked up and for the first time in ages, Helena saw the child inside the strong woman. "Take the money, and have the treatments. I've got everything I want, except this."

"What about a holiday? I hear that the Peryak reefs are gorgeous this time of year." Helena wiggled her eyes suggestively, but with one look from Bastila, she knew her heart wasn't in it anymore though.

"No."

"A nice ship?"

"No," Bastila sat on the bed and suddenly slipped her head into Helena's lap. "I want to give you a chance to pull back some time."

"Bas..." Helena stroked her daughters hair softly. "You really want me to use this money?"

"Yes!" Bastila whispered and then looked up at her mother's eyes, so like her own. "I want you to be there for my wedding."

"Wedding?" Helena's eyes widened in surprise. "Bastila, honey."

"It's going to happen mother, I love him so much." She shuffled upright and entwined her hands. "I can't explain why I know we'll be joined... I just know."

"A Jedi thing I suppose," She wanted her voice to be cautionary, to warn her daughter about possible disappointment... but she couldn't. Helena sighed. "Very well."

"Thank you." Bastila sighed with relief and waved at an attendant who opened the glass door politely. "Here, take this credit chip and transfer it's contents to the hospital. I want my mother to have this cure she's been keeping from me."

"It may not cure me honey," Helena gently reminded her. "It may only give me a few more years..."

"That's enough for us to say everything we need to, for you to see everything you need to." Bastila smiled at her mother and fiddled with a strand of her hair. "I'm hoping for a lot more though. Anyway, lets get started."

"Very well." The attendant nodded and looked at Helena. "I'll get Dr Mirty and we'll begin as soon as he gets here. Would you care to have a seat brought in for your daughter?"

"Yes please, and I'd like a pad if you have the time. I need to send something."

"Mother?" Bastila frowned. "What are you sending?"

"Now Bas... I'm entitled to have my own secrets, as are you." Her pale face smiled. Lets just say I owe Revan a word of thanks."

"Mother, no angry messages!" Bastila blurted... a worried expression on her face. Helena grinned and her own eyes flashed with devious amusement.

"Perish the thought. No, I've got something very different in mind and no, I'm not telling you what I'm going to do."

Bastila felt pressure on her lips and, turning to Jolee, suddenly muttered. "I miss him and I miss my mother... silly really. I am a Jedi, I'm supposed to be able to repress what I feel."

"You think?" Jolee looked at her with a small smile and raised his eyebrows. "Having these emotions is being human kid, the trick is to learn how to cope with em. Something that the Jedi have got wrong in my opinion, but then what do I know."

"Enough for them to make you my Master," Bastila said dryly and Jolee grunted. "I look forward to seeing how you do it, I really want to learn how to control my emotions."

"Well, I'm not going to teach you that," He looked at her and shrugged. "I don't believe you can, hell I don't think anyone can. To control an emotion, any emotion is to deny them all and that's impossible for any living being. Y'know if you believe the first line of our code, it makes out that you should be cool and calculating... 'There is no emotion, only peace." Yes?"

Bastila nodded, this conversation was helping her stop thinking of Revan, of him far away. She felt a gentle tug from the bond and smiled sadly, the force was reminding her they were never truly apart... still, she wished he were physically next to her, right now.

"Well then, that should mean a Jedi should forsake compassion, caring, happiness, courage and all the other non-destructive emotions we carry. I would never want to be like that and I'm sure neither would you lass. See what I mean?"

"I suppose that's possible... 'There is NO emotion'... I've always had problems with that line." She admitted slowly. "I always felt guilty about not being able to do it. It wasn't fun, being berated all the time by my tutors about how I lacked control."

"Because you're a passionate person Bastila. There's nothing wrong with that, even if you are a Jedi." Jolee watched the swirl of hyperspace. "So, here's a poser for you. The code, even if it's right or wrong, cannot possibly apply to all Jedi... that's impossible, yes?"

She nodded again. "We are many, well we were... and the code is well, a set of rules. But then I agree that rules cannot apply to everyone, look at Revan. He's full of emotion, yet stays on the path of the lightside. I wish I knew how sometimes."

"Okay, so why do you feel guilt over not being able to follow the code?" Jolee looked at her carefully and she frowned in thought. "Did you ask any of the Masters of another way? Not to control but to deal with them at the right time? Something that you, Bastila Shan, could have used to deal with your passionate nature, to face your emotions."

"Face them?" Bastila frowned. "I thought we were supposed to repress them. That's what I've been doing all my life. What they taught me to do."

"Did it work for you?" Jolee asked quietly and looked at her confused face. "I'm not talking about you falling in love with Revan. Rather, when you met Malak... when you felt him approach the Leviathan."

"Well no, they overwhelmed my control. I thought it was because I wasn't trying hard enough, that I was weak." She remembered her crushing guilt on the Hawk, a tremor running through her at the memory and sighed. She knew it wasn't true. She was only a Padawan, and Malak was capable, had turned many Masters, some in far less time. However, back then on the Hawk, after seeing Revan triumph over his own powerful emotions, she'd felt guilt over her lack of control. "I was weak, weaker than Revan when it came to controlling emotion."

"Don't be silly kid, you're a damn powerful Jedi with amazing skill. One of the big reasons why you fell is staring you in the face and I've been trying to get you to see it." Jolee huffed out a breath; there could only be a few minutes left before the shuttle plummeted back into normal space. "Imagine your emotional control is like a big dam, where you can repress and deny what you're feeling."

"Very well." Bastila frowned. "This is not an accurate description Jolee."

"It doesn't need to be kid, it's a rough example to get a young woman to ponder an old mans wisdom. Also, I want you to imagine that all your emotion is like a river, it swells when the dark emotions flow okay? Now, when Malak had you at his whim." She winced and Jolee sighed. "When he had you under his control that dam began to fill up with all the pain, fear, anger, loneliness and everything else you were feeling, yes?"

Bastila shrugged at him, she supposed it was right.

"So, what happened when it reached bursting point?" Jolee asked quietly. "Once you reached the peak of your ability to hold everything back, it left a crack in you that Malak exploited and caused it to break, swamping you with everything you were trying to deny."

"Very well, I can see how that roughly describes what happened." Bastila swallowed at the brief memory of pain and shook her head. "So how does that help me?"

Huh, as bright as Revan sometimes." Jolee looked at her and shook his head. "You tell me... what do you think the solution is?"

"Build a bigger emotional dam?" She watched Jolee sigh and shake his head.

"Kid, what use would that be? It'll just fill up again, make an even bigger crack. Do you want to hear an old mans advice?" Bastila nodded. "Look, refusing to deal with pain, suffering and the darker side of emotions is bad enough... to deny the good? Well, I think you've finally realised what you've been missing, now that Revan's part of your life. This old man can only say that it's best to never dam the river, merely to know when it's a good idea to dip your feet in."

"This is getting confusing."

"What I'm trying to say kid is that I think, I hope, I'll be able to teach you how I deal with emotion. Sometimes I let it affect me... happy and sad, light and dark... But other times, it's best to let it flow through your body, without affecting who you are."

"But the Sith say that we should let emotions flow through us." She looked at him in shock. "You're saying I should do what the Sith do?"

"No kid, look this is hard to explain. I'm gonna try and teach you how to let pain, anger and all the negative emotions flow past you... to never actually touch you if you don't want them to. That's safer than storing them up so they come crashing down and swamp you, so you get swept along to the darkside."

"I think I see...." she pondered Jolee's advice and she had to admit, it sounded better to her than denying her emotions. "A Jedi should know compassion, respect life, seek peace..."

"And personally, I think all Jedi should be allowed to feel love." Jolee looked at her thoughtful face. "So, what'd you say Bastila? Willing to give it a try? I can't promise an answer to all your problems with controlling the passion that runs through you, nor will I deny that my way can be harder than repressing them... but it's a start, and could let you be one of the most powerful and serene Jedi around." He grinned and nudged her. "When you want to be."

She blushed at his tone and looked away. But as she went to refute him, she felt a shudder pass through the deck plating. The shuttle had dropped to normal space; they were there.

"We'll discuss this later Kid. But I'll let you into a secret; the code has changed slightly since I was a Padawan. Anyway, come on."

"_Changed_?" Bastila wondered, as she stood and picked up her duffel bag and subconsciously checked that her sabre hilt was on her belt, something she'd begun to do since Taris. "_What did Jolee mean, changed?"_

"This is the command deck, we're approaching the flagship of the fleet Lady Shan, Master Jolee."

Bastila pushed away her thoughts for the time being and turned to join Jolee at their quarter's window. As she looked out, her breath caught in her throat.

"Oh my..."

The vast ship that the shuttle hurtled towards was much larger in size than any of the Republic ships that she'd been on before. It had to be four times bigger than the Endar Spire had been and, although the ship was Republic in design, it was obviously a new class. Similar style as the Spire, yet it had a vastly larger number of guns and missile tubes. She wondered who was commanding, probably some old, dyed in the wool, Admiral. As the shuttle slowly began to sip into the vast hanger bay of the ship, Bastila glanced at Jolee with a look of surprise. He shrugged; the size of this ship was not lost on him either.

"Lady Shan, I am Captain Serrvul." A Twi'lek in a crisp and immaculate uniform bowed as Bastila and Jolee walked down the disembark ramp of the shuttle. "I welcome you personally aboard the Endar's Spirit."

"I beg your pardon? The Endar's..."

"Spirit, lady Shan." Serrvul inclined his head to the bags she and Jolee held, and two crewmen walked quickly up and gently took them away. "Your luggage will be delivered to your quarters my Lady, Master Jolee. We are getting underway immediately you see. The Sith fleet has been spotted, it is on the move. We have to catch up with the rest of our own fleet. The Admiral has requested you meet with him immediately."

Bastila frowned and glanced at Jolee who shrugged. She was the fleet Commander, he himself held no rank within the republic, so he let her handle this.

"This ship looks almost new Captain." Bastila commented politely, as Serrvul escorted them to a turbolift. "She's certainly bigger than any I've seen, apart from the Sith ships of course."

"The spirit is one of two just commissioned dreadnoughts. Admiral Dodonna has taken command of the sister of this one. The spirit has been given to the Admiral in gratitude for his services, he named her as well." Serrvul punched a button into the lift and it began to shoot along the shaft. "I was given command of her for my services in the battle over the Star Forge. I..." He looked at Bastila with a hunted expression. "I lost my ship to the enemy fleet before Revan could... turn it in our favour."

"Oh no." Bastila closed her eyes and felt a tug of guilt. Serrvul knew she had fallen to the darkside, had to.... He'd been there when her battle meditation had savaged the republic fleet. "Captain, I'm so sorry for..."

"Lady Shan, I'm just glad that Jedi Revan was able to make you see sense. Our losses would have been much worse if you hadn't assisted us to defeat the forge."

"Maybe. But I'll never forgive myself for the lives lost." She shuddered as Jolee placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Serrvul stared at her intently and then shrugged. "After what I saw that day and after what the Admiral has told us, we were all lucky to escape such an evil place."

"Thank you Captain." She whispered quietly and Serrvul bowed his head. "And you are quite right."

The lift slid to a halt and the door whooshed open quickly. Bastila and Jolee followed Serrvul to a door bearing 'Admirals quarters' and Serrvul knocked.

"Come in." A voice called, and Serrvul escorted the two Jedi into a plush room.

"Damn, it's good to see you two!" The voice, familiar now it was not being heard through metal, echoed with delight in the huge room. "I'd almost given up hope of being able to catch up with any of you!"

"Carth?" Bastila exclaimed in delighted shock, while Jolee grinned. The grizzled soldier walked towards them with a smile. His uniform, usually so rumpled, now was pristine and bore an Admirals crest. "What... _how,_ did you manage to pull this one off?"

"Well, Dodonna thought I'd be more use commanding a fleet than trudging through dirt... She gave me the promotion herself and this ship." Carth waved his hand at a model of the Spirit sitting on his desk. "Isn't she a beauty. Four times the size of the Endar, and one hundred times meaner!"

"'The Endar's Spirit'? Why Carth, I do believe you're going soft." Bastila smiled at his embarrassed face and shook her head. "Suits her though, especially if she's your flagship."

"Yes well, seemed appropriate to remember the ship that started it all..." Carth grinned at Jolee. "Hey old timer, how's life been treating you?"

"Me? I've got the Jedi princess here as a Padawan. How do you think life's treating me." He snorted and Bastila's face reddened as Jolee shook his head. "Pretty well actually. I couldn't ask for a better kid, truth be told. Besides, I've got to prepare her for a life with Revan. She'll need this old man's advice about romance, dating and what comes after dating."

Bastila cleared her throat and both Carth and Jolee chuckled at her expression.

"I am _here _gentlemen! Now, could you please explain what exactly the plan of battle is? I shall need to know the outline so I can assist."

"Certainly, but first... have you two had lunch?" Carth smiled and waved his hand at a large table obviously set for three. "I want to here everything that's been going on for the past few weeks. For starters, where _is_ Revan?"

Bastila shrugged and sighed in amusement as Jolee plonked himself down on one of the seats and helped himself to a large glass of Tarisian ale.

"Away, on assignment for the council," She was unable to keep the slightly bitter tone from her voice. "I'm on one side of the galaxy, while he's on the other."

"Now, now kid." Jolee waved his glass at her and she sat reluctantly next to him. "Don't you worry about that, you'll see Revan again soon enough."

"I suppose," Bastila sighed and turned to Carth. "It's good to see you Carth, really good."

"I've missed you both. Now," Carth waited as two robots trundled in and served a starter. "Tell me, how did Revan take the Hawk going missing?" He watched Bastila flush and grinned. "Oh and how did he find the gamblers luck? Dodonna forgot to mention to him, how hot the ship he borrowed was."

"Heh, that reminds me." Jolee looked at the food on his plate with an appreciative eye and then back to Carth. "Kid, you'd better duck next time you see him. I think he was muttering about having a little talk with you. You don't want to get Revan annoyed, Nomi told me so!"

"Who?" Carth looked at the two of them with a quizzical eye.

"Nomi Sunrider, she is a Jedi Master on the council." Bastila looked at Jolee's smirking face and tilted her head. "So, what _did_ Revan say in front of the council leaders?"

"Well, from what she told me, Revan was none too happy about having his mind erased by the council, and he told them so."

Wait, wait..." Carth interjected and picked up his glass. "I thought the Jedi attempted to heal Revan's mind, not erase it."

"Not everything is as light and dark as we wish Carth," Bastila stared into the glass in her hand, the dark liquid swirling in time with her thoughts. "I knew that Vandar had told him some detail about his... mind," She sighed. "But not all, and I suppose I'm not surprised he thinks we erased it."

"Your name never came up kid," Jolee shrugged at her look of disbelief. "That's what Nomi told me. He got angry with them, but not you."

"Then he should have done," She looked at them both and decided that another stain on her soul would fade slightly if she told them. "Would you like to hear what happened?"

They nodded and Bastila closed her eyes as the memory flooded her.


	13. Revenant:chapter3:part2

Part 2.

"_Do we know how much damage there is?_" Master Vrook stood next to Bastila with a frown on his worn face. "_Is his mind totally gone_?"

"_Hmmm. No, it is there, the personality and the memories_." Master Vandar looked up from where his small frame held a hand gently against the dark lord's head. "_Fractured and scattered. He will never be able to function like this, there is no cohesive pattern and the force trembles inside him_."

"_Really? His life hangs in the balance then. If Bastila had not fed him with her own force power, he would not be alive now_." Vrook glanced at her. "_You were supposed to bring him back to the enclave, whole in body _and_ mind_!"

"_Peace, Vrook_." Vandar turned to Bastila and cocked his eyebrow. "_Child, how did you manage to fracture the dark lords mind so utterly?"_

"_Master, I did not do this. I would not do this!_" Bastila looked at the pale face on the bed in front of her and sighed. "_It was Malak, he fired on the flagship and the blast smashed into him and us. I honestly have no idea how my team or I survived the explosion. It was almost as if..."_

"_As if what_?" Vrook looked at her.

"_As if something absorbed the detonation," _She shivered at the memory of Revan's red blade humming in a defensive stance._ "What it could have been I have no idea. It was certainly not Revan, he would have killed us all. We were lucky, Masters, that Malak did decide to act. I would not stand before you now, I would be dead... or a dark Jedi_."

"_Perhaps." _Vandar looked at her oddly and pursed his lips_. "But there is no luck, there is only the force.... Tell me, do you feel anything from Revan_?"

"_Master_?" Bastila frowned at his almost... worried expression and glanced at Vrook. He too looked... concerned.

"_Reach into yourself and concentrate my child_. _Do you feel anything_?"

"_I... I can sense chaos and..._." Bastila gasped as a sudden sharp pricking sensation made her wince. "_Ow_!"

Vandar, who had nicked Revan's hand with a small needle, sighed and Vrook groaned in dismay.

"_Master's, what..._" Bastila looked at them in distress. "_What happened then_?"

"_It is of no concern Bastila_." Vandar glanced at Vrook and then smiled gently at her. "_You are probably feeling a slight connection to him, it is undoubtedly due to the huge volumes of force energy you gifted to him so he may live_."

"_Will it go away... fade_?" She looked at Vandar with an expression of horror and he sighed. Bastila trembled slightly at the repulsive thought of having such an evil man able to share her thoughts. "_I am not suited to having a dark lord being with me in my mind, Master_."

"_You do not share a single mind, young one_." Vandar soothed her and she sighed in relief. "_You are linked, that is all. I am sure it is also temporary_"

"_So... what do we do now_?" Bastila asked them, missing the look of concern on Vrook's face. "_Can we repair his mind? Will he live_?"

"_Do we want him to_?" Vrook asked slowly. Bastila and Vandar turned in shock to him and he shrugged. "_The dark lord is vanquished and Malak has taken his place. We do not have enough time to expend resources healing this one, even if it can be done_!"

"_Master_," Bastila glanced back down at the person who was once her hero and shook her head. "_He was a great Jedi once, is there nothing that we can do? Please_?" She surprised herself at the request. "Why do I care so much?" She wondered.

"_I must agree with Vrook, it may be better to let Revan slip gently into one with the force_." Vandar watched as Bastila's face slipped into horror and she opened her mouth. He held up a hand. "_His shattered mind will never function as it is, he cannot live like this young Padawan. If we keep him alive on artificial support, then what quality of life will he have_?"

"_We must be able to heal it_!" She spurted in shock.

"_To heal a mind, Bastila, is difficult when it is only slightly harmed. Revan has... lost all of... who he was. His personality is scattered across his mindscape like shattered glass. How can we heal that?_"

Bastila looked at the pale face once more and shivered. She had a gentle memory of him passing her once in a corridor, and he fixed her with such a amazing smile. It was difficult for her, even after all she had seen him do, to link the two as one. She shook her head, he deserved a chance at redemption, she just... knew he did.

"_Masters... what about Malak_?"

"_What about him_?" Vrook asked slowly.

"_I have heard the same reports as you Masters. It has been a week since his attack and usurp of the mantle of dark lord_." She looked at Vandar's face. "_He has already replaced the ships he lost at the battle, and has a new flagship. Where are they getting these resources?_"

"_We don't know, as well you know_!" Vrook snapped, before pulling himself back under emotional control. "_No one knows where Malak, and before him, Revan, is amassing these ships. You know that as well as I, Padawan Shan_!"

"_There is one person who knows, no matter how shattered his mind is_." She looked at Vrook. "_The man before you Master, has a memory in there somewhere of where, or how, Malak is obtaining the resources to build his fleets_."

"_Hmmm. Young Bastila does have a point_." Vandar stared at the pale face. "_But how would we obtain such memories_?"

"_We have to save his life Master_," Bastila looked at the two of them and urged them silently to agree. "_We must find a way_!"

"_I agree Vrook_," Vandar looked at the old Jedi with a calm expression. "_We must find out how Malak and the Sith have limitless resources. Now that we have a way to do so, can we really ignore the will of the force?_"

"_Very well, I agree that we should use this to our benefit_." Vrook glanced at Bastila and then at Vandar. "_But I do have one question. How are we going to repair the damage to Revan's mind? Without any guidance we will never find the memories we need in that mess_."

"_Hmmm, you are right of course, Vrook_." Vandar gazed at Bastila intently once more, and the young Jedi shuffled uncomfortably. "_We must discuss this with the other council members. Bastila, please stay here and tend to Revan while we discuss your suggestion_."

"_Yes Master_."

Bastila glanced down at her glass and wondered how it had become only half full. She shrugged and accepted Carth's offer of a refill. Settling back, Bastila looked at her audience. Carth had a fascinated expression and was riveted. Jolee, while feigning moderate interest, had nevertheless shuffled closer. She smiled slightly, the thought that she might be a good storyteller had never occurred to her before.

"It took them two days to decide what to do... I looked after Revan all that time with the assistance of the medibots. It was lonely there, no one else was allowed to know that Revan had survived." She clutched the glass and stared into its depths once more. "Eventually I was summoned to the council chambers. It was there that I got quite a shock."

"_Ahh Bastila_." Vandar smiled as she walked into the council chamber. "_We have been examining the Jedi archives and have found something that may just work_."

"_You... you can save his mind Master_?" She sighed in relief, only to feel her heart sink at their expressions. "_Is there something wrong_?"

"_The damage to Revan's mind is extreme young one_." Doruk looked at her with sad eyes. "_I have been through every Jedi discipline to find one that may restore his mind. There is one that we may be able to use_," Dorak glanced at Vandar who nodded. "_But to do so, we need your help_."

"_What must I do_?" She asked, puzzled.

"_The damage to Revan's mind is irreversible_," Vandar watched her expression soften and sighed. "_The only way we can save him is to use a very old discipline from the archives. Even then, the chances are it will only provide basic abilities_."

"_Basic_?" She stared at him in growing unease.

"_To create a whole new personality as varied as you or I is not within our abilities_." Vrook told her quietly. "_Revan will be able to walk, talk a little and feed himself. To do anymore is practically impossible_."

"_That's all_?" She shook her head. "_What about his memory_?"

"_This basic personality should allow the fragments of memory to surface." _Dorak consulted a datacube and then placed it on his belt_. "The Jedi Masters on Coruscant should be able to use the mind we build, to access them. First, we must repair the damage, as much as we can_. _Bastila, we have to ask you to help us do this_." Dorak pulled the cube from his belt once more. "_The discipline I have discovered is complex and will require many days of preparation. What it does... I don't really know. The data that stored information in detail over what it does is missing. I am also having trouble decoding the name that the ancient Jedi gave this discipline, the damage of the holocron that this came from has caused corruption to enter into sections. We are attempting to repair the data and so far the word reflect and possibly energy appear, but even those, I cannot guarantee are the right words. . _

"That's it?" Bastila's voice was shocked and she looked at their faces in dismay. "_We know nothing else about what it does_?"

"_I do know that it will heal his mind, but how is unknown to me and possibly lost_. All I can translate is_ that it will erase, and yet heal his mind. Everything else has been corrupted and we were lucky that the actual discipline procedure was kept on another holocron."_" Dorak glanced at Vrook and Vandar and then turned back to Bastila_ If we do use this then, as I have said, we will need your help_. _The discipline requires a Jedi to form a bond with the subject. As you have already done this..._."

"_I see_. _If I do this_..." She looked around the room and found herself unable to keep the repulsed tone from her voice. "_This bond will eventually disperse anyway? I do not want to be bonded for life to such a dark soul."_

Vandar glanced at the others and they nodded, all except Zhar, whose face was troubled. "_Yes, it should_." Vandar said quietly. "_We cannot promise anything, but we can assist as much as possible in the healing process, take as much of the need for force energy this will create, from your shoulders. But we cannot do this without you. Will you help us young Bastila_?"

"_Very well, I will help you, Master_s." Bastila bowed at them and looking up her face set into a determined frown. "_How do we save his life_?"

"And that's what roughly happened," Bastila said shrugging. "I and the council performed the discipline and Revan's mind was healed, in a way. We assumed that the personality would be able to do menial tasks, such as look after himself."

"Well, I could make a crack about how Revan seems pretty basic even now," Jolee muttered with a smile. "But anyone can see that he's far more than that."

"Yes. Revan's mind began to well... heal itself further. I could sense so much growth, a sense of being. When I told the council they were s shocked and Vandar found something both intriguing and worrying. His mind hungered for memories, to tell him who he was. The council gave them to him to prevent his emerging personality being damaged by a total lack of past or worse discovering that he had once been a Sith lord." She paused and gazed at her two friends. "Who he is now... I, nor the council, have any idea where he came from."  
"Well, how similar is Revan 'now' to who he was 'then'?" Carth asked with fascination.

"There are similarities," Bastila admitted. "But there is also so much that is different. Emotions, desires, his morality... are all subtly unique to him. It is unnerving to me, even though I love him, how different he is to the Revan I once met."

"Wow, is that why you were disturbed on Dantooine?" Carth asked her and she tilted her head in question. "The day after you presented him to the council. You seemed upset."

"No, that was different." Bastila smiled faintly. "I had been assured by the council, that the bond would eventually dissipate. So, imagine my shock when I shared a memory of his past. I was a little horrified, both by Revan's dream, his feeling's at that point and also by the fact that the bond remained and decided to announce itself that way."

"I'll bet." Jolee said with a shake of his head. "Damn council, they can really lie when they need to. Huh, we may as well be no better than the Sith."

"Jolee," She admonished slightly. "I think they genuinely believed, well hoped anyway, that the bond would fade. I can't blame them for it's strengthening. It was my choice to save him on the bridge, my choice to heal his mind. That must have bound our souls together in ways I can't even imagine. Regardless, I... I am pleased we are forever linked this way."

"You say that now," Jolee grinned and slid a sideways glance at Carth. "But I'll bet it'll tick you off more than once."

"Perhaps," Bastila prepared herself to be gently ragged on and shook her head. "So far, now that I am growing accustomed to it, I have found it... pleasurable."

"Hmmm, I guessed as much from the little episode on Coruscant." Jolee smirked at her sudden blush. "Regardless, I'm glad that you two have found one another. Every time I see you together, it reminds me of the good times with Nayama."

"Well, I'll admit I'm fascinated by all this stuff about Revan's past." Carth sat back as the droids cleared the starters away and began to roll in with the main course. "I'll have to ask him how he feels, now they've given him an idea of what happened."

"If you do..." Bastila waved her hand in a breaking gesture. "Do it gently, please. He is... disturbed by this, as he has every right to be." She paused and glanced at Jolee with a guilty look. "You could say that all the pain that he has been exposed to... that was probably my fault."

"Don't be daft kid, you gave him a shot at redemption and he took it." Jolee looked at her pained face and sighed, smiled. "If it's any consolation, you gave him something much more precious that makes up for it in every way."

She frowned and looked at him. "What?"

"Love, kid, love." Jolee smiled at her sudden blush. "True love is rarer than anything, I should know. It's a pleasure to finally see two young kids such as yourself find it. Warms an old mans heart."

"As for me," Carth smiled at her as she turned her head. "I'm not going to go in guns blazing, I promise. I just... want to know what he thinks about all this." He shrugged and turned to Jolee with a grin. "Your turn old man. Before you came on board I got a message from one Jedi Master Sunrider, care to explain why she asked me to take special care of you?"

"Well, ahem." Jolee harrumphed and Bastila hid a smile. "It's like this..."

The rest of the meal had passed with pleasant chit-chat, and opinions about the Sith's goals now that the forge had been taken out. It was seven in the evening, by the time Bastila and Jolee managed to get to their assigned quarters. Serrvul had thoughtfully placed them in cabins that adjoined a small room equipped as a smoothly decorated meditation room.

Bastila, after having a long relaxing soak under her cabin refresher and marvelling at the large view port through which she could see the swirl of hyperspace, walked gently to the door linking the room to her cabin and stepped through. She'd decided in the mirror that the bathrobe would make a fine meditation aid and it kept her warm in the cool air from the eviron-plant. As she settled down to meditate, a gentle click echoed from the other side and Jolee smiled at her as he poked his head around the doorframe.

"Mind if an old man joins you?"

"Jolee... you're my Master, of course you can join me."

"Less of the Master kid, and thanks." He sat down opposite her and watched as she pulled her hair gently away from her face. "So, would you like to learn the first lesson from a wise old man?"

Bastila looked at him and nodded. "Yes, I think I'm ready. But it depends on you."

"Kid, I know you're not going to rush things, so stop trying to sound apologetic for wanting to help yourself." He looked at her face until he was sure she understood and settled back. "Right, now get settled and we'll do some light meditation. This will be the first lesson."

"Yes, mas... Jolee," Bastila settled her long legs into a more comfortable position. "I am ready."

"Yeah kid, you always were." Jolee smiled at her and nodded. "Right, here we go. Now I told you that the code had changed..."

Bastila nodded.

"Okay," Jolee closed his eyes. "Now, I think the code I learned in my youth will help you a lot more than the one they teach now. It's subtly different, but enough that I think it will help. Once you've learned it and meditated on the significance of it's words, I'll teach you my way of control."

"Why did it change?" Bastila asked him and Jolee frowned slightly. "I'm sorry, I'm curious."

"No, no it's fine." He paused and thought back. "The code changed after the battle with Exar Kuhn. I suppose as to why... well, it was to do with the emotions some Jedi allowed themselves to feel. It's my own opinion, but I think it was because they feared it was this... freedom with emotion that caused the war. So, they decided to stop all Jedi from feeling any." He sighed and shook his head. "Daft I call it. How do you stop someone falling in love, or feeling compassion, anger and the rest? You can't, so you have to learn, to teach them, how to step back from them. That's what I hope I'll be able to teach you kid. Now, you ready for the code?"

"Yes, I'm ready." Bastila closed her eyes and Jolee's gravely voice slipped into a softer tone.

"Repeat and remember." He closed his eyes once more. "Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force."

Bastila felt the words slip into her and she repeated them inside her head again and again. They were so alike, the two codes, yet each was subtly different. She settled back and felt the words echo around inside her. In this dreamlike state, she felt herself slip slowly towards a deeper meditative focus. The force whispered to her, tugged at her gently and she could see the bond linking Revan and herself shimmer away into the swirling energy of the galaxy. She felt at peace and wryly thought that it had been some time since she had.

With a sigh she slipped even deeper and gasped as a sudden cold feeling crept over her. It was alien and she knew, somehow, that the force was sending her a premonition, a vision of the future.

"_No_!" She shuddered as Revan's voice slammed into her, the emotion mingled with it was of terror, numbing terror and she wanted to pull back... but the force held her. "_No this can't be happening, it can't!_"

"_The darkside is so powerful Revan, can you not feel it ripping at your heart_?" The second voice was cold, sadistic and malevolent and Bastila felt only gloating pleasure from it. "_I took the greatest thing you have, away from you... how does that make you feel_?"

Even as the words faded, Bastila felt a sudden tug of the darkside, it swirled around her, and poured itself, like a dark fluid, over her body and face. She tugged at it in terror and as it began to trickle down her throat let out a scream of fear.

"Kid, hey kid... Bastila wake up honey come on!"

"I... I, _no_ Revan! I _oh_ what... what?" Disorientated, she looked up to see Jolee, his face as white as a sheet, hunched over her.

"It's okay kid, you're on the Spires Spirit, remember?" She focused on Jolee's concerned face and shivered as the vision of... whatever that had been, slipped away. "What happened?"

"I had a... a vision of something," she paused and rubbed a hand across her forehead. "One second I was at peace and the next... I felt cold and frightened. It was Revan and he was in danger..."

Jolee looked at her and shook his head.

"Well, I've had one or two force visions in my time," His own memory slipped the vision he and Juhani had once had on Rakatan. The sheer anger that Bastila's mind had contained in it had shocked him. "Whatever it was is important. Any idea when it was set?"

Bastila shook her head. "No. But I think I might have been there..." She looked at him. "Do you think I should warn Revan or the council about this?"

"Well, it depends... was it something specific?"

"Not really. But it was terrible," She shivered and looked at him. "Something is coming Jolee, something dark... I saw it, felt it. But you're right, it was so blurred, so vague."

"Then it may have been a flash of something far in the future," Jolee looked at her and shrugged. "Regardless, you can't warn Revan as you don't know what's going to happen. Look, all I can suggest is that you and I will keep an eye on Revan when we next join up. He was obviously involved, the way you kept yelling his name. Humph, it seems the force has still got plans for him, I wish I knew what they were. Anyway, I'll Comm Nomi and let her know what's happened. I trust her and she'll know who to inform on both Coruscant and Dantooine."

"I suppose that's the best we can do. But still, I'm concerned Jolee."

"I know kid, but for now all we can do is the job we were sent here to do. Concentrate on preparing yourself for battle meditation for now. We'll discuss this vision later, okay?"

"You really are Master material," Bastila said with a soft smile and Jolee grunted. "I think I'm lucky to have you assigned to me."

"Yeah, yeah, no need to rub it in," he said with a snort. "Now it's late and old men like me need their sleep. So do uppity young Jedi with special gifts, bed young lady!"

"Yes Jolee," Bastila watched him fondly as he wandered into his room and the door hissed shut quietly behind him. She slowly rose to her own feet, but paused as the lingering chill of the vision the force had gifted to her slipped across her spine.

"_I pray that Jolee is right and it is a warning rather than a toll of doom. Still, even if you can't hear me my love... Be safe, I beg of you."_ She wished, hoping that if not the words then the feeling attached would keep him safe. With a sigh, Bastila slowly walked to the door of her quarters and stepped through. Jolee was right, she had to prepare her battle meditation and also cope with the lessons he was sure to throw at her, so she would need all the sleep she could get.

Three weeks later. Alderran to Taris trade route.

"Rev get up here!" Mission struggled with the Hawks controls, as the Navicom shrilly chimed through the whole ship. Revan ran as fast as possible to the cockpit and felt Canderous and Juhani slip beside him. "We've just run into a whole heap of Bantha poodoo!"

"Sith interdictor ship," Canderous muttered with satisfaction. "No wonder they were able to take out the cargo ships and their crews."

"Rev, the cargo hauliers are preparing to repel borders," Mission looked up at him, her young face determined. "Taris needs those supplies, so how do we stop the Interdictor from blasting them?"

"First things first, we have to stop the boarding crews." Revan looked at Juhani. She nodded and turned back to the crew annex, he glanced at Canderous as the old Mandalorian grinned in anticipation. "Canderous, get ready for action. Mission, I need you to stay here and pilot the Hawk."

"But," She began and he chopped his hand at her.

"No buts! If I'm right, they'll try to board us in staggered timings, try to overwhelm us with carefully plotted numbers. We'll have to deal with them in turn, and also take out as many transports as possible. That's your job Mish, blast as many as possible out of the sky while my team deals with any boarding parties who make it."

"Okay, but who's gonna be gunner? I can't fly and shoot at the same time."

"HK. He's got the accuracy."

"Smooth!" Mission nodded, pleased to be once again a part of this mission. "I won't let ya down Rev."

"I know you won't, Mission. Once we deal with the first boarding, pick us up and transport us to the next one. Keep an eye on the comm as well. We have to meet the dark Jedi, the republic troopers can handle the standard Sith. While this is going on, I hope the second phase is happening."

"Second phase?" Mission asked and Revan shook his head.

"No time," Revan pulled the sabre from his belt and squeezed Mission gently on the shoulder. "Lets do this, Taris needs those supplies more than the Sith ever will."

He strode to the crew compartment even as the Hawk suddenly veered violently, Mission must have seen a transport heading for one of the cargo ships. Looking up from checking his lightsabre, he saw Juhani, Quatra and Selyne all staring at him.

"Ready?" Juhani asked him with the familiar fiery glow in her eyes. "We must defend the cargo!"

"I'm ready, what about you two?" He nodded at Quatra and Selyne and they both nodded back. "Very well. Seleyne, stick close. Until I know how well you can handle yourself in combat I want you where I can keep an eye on you."

"Yes, Revan." Seleyne bristled slightly, but nodded. "I'm ready for anything!"

"Quatra, they'll be expecting us when we charge down the Hawks exit ramp. So we'll all have to be careful."

"I've got an idea Revan," Canderous, decked out in a pristine suit of Mandalorian armour and carrying the two combat blades Revan had purchased for him on Yavin, grinned and tossed a sphere of metal at him. "Chuck this out there before we charge!"

Revan glanced down and had to smile, as a thermal detonator smiled back at him. Carefully, he tucked it into a small mesh pouch on his belt and nodded. Just as he was about to suggest they move to the boarding ramp, HK walked in."

"Statement: Master, I still say I should go with you!" The three Jedi and Mandalorian watched as the red droid actually fumed at his creator. "I cannot protect your vital functions if we are separated!"

"HK I told you, I'll be fine. I need you to look after Mission."

"Annoyance: Master, she is not my... Master, you are! She is not the one who, when terminated, will activate my auto shutdown chip!"

"HK I'll be fine. Now, get on those gun turrets, we have to protect the convoy and crews!"

"Supplication: Very well Master. Please be careful, I do not wish our reunion to be cut short due to carelessness."

"Go HK!" Revan sighed as the droid ran off with surprising speed, and shaking his head, shook out his muscles for the combat to come.

"Rev, I've got a comm call from the capital cargo ship 'Dantooine's dream'." Mission yelled from the cockpit. "She's under attack by a Sith boarding party, the Captain is reporting Jedi among them."

"Okay everyone, let's go! Mission get us in there!" He felt the Hawk flip in a wide loop and hurtle at high speed in another direction, as the inertial compensator struggled with Missions hard manoeuvre. With a roar of engine power, the Hawk slammed down onto one of the huge cargo ships docking bays. There was a pause as the shield around her buzzed with Sith small arms fire and then the returning "krechow" of the Hawks auto gun security systems echoing across the hull.

Revan yanked the detonator from his pocket and threw it as hard and as far as his Jedi enhanced muscles would allow. The grenade flew with a high pitched spinning sound into the cargo hold, where it's arrival caused many screams of horror. The detonation echoed through the ramp and Revan snapped on his sabre, followed by the other Jedi. Canderous span his assault blades, his eyes gleaming in anticipation.

"Now!" Revan yelled and, with a burst of force speed, charged down the corridor into a large force of suddenly disorientated Sith troopers and dark Jedi. A flash of force energy rippled from himself and Quatra simultaneously blowing bodies across the vast hanger in a mass of flailing arms and legs.

Juhani span across the sky in a whirl spinning lightsabre blade and two dark Jedi screamed in pain as she slammed into them, slicing them apart cleanly. She glanced around the cavernous bay, only to spin and engage another group trying to flank Revan and Quatra.

Canderous followed behind, pausing only to cleave the arm of a Sith trooper who fumbled with his gun in desperation. Even as the trooper shirked in terror at his suddenly missing appendage, Canderous charged into another group of five troopers with a battle yell that had two running in fear.

Revan, fighting three dark Jedi, dodged burning sabre beams of energy with a speed that was inhuman, even by Jedi standards. He called on the force at his disposal and one of the Jedi froze in stasis. The Jedi standing next to him yelled in rage and swung his sabre in a hard arc towards Revan's face. Revan ducked quickly, his dual blade spinning upward in an unstoppable arc and the Jedi let out a scream that ended in a gurgle as Revan's blade split him from the abdomen to the chest.

Revan had not time to regret or mourn the carnage they were causing to other living beings, the battle was so hectic that he had no time to think. Even as the Jedi's remains crumpled, the unfrozen Jedi took his place, a savage look of hate marring his features. Revan ducked as the Jedi flung his sabre towards him and as its blade span past him in an arcing wave of light he moved to engage the defenceless Jedi.

"Surrender." Revan requested.

The dark Jedi growled enraged. Extending his fingers, forks of lightening burst from them and twisted their way towards Revan. They snapped uselessly against Revan's outstretched sabre blade. With a deep sigh, Revan concentrated and the Jedi flew away from him with a scream, crashing into the hanger wall.

Only the final Jedi remained. Still paralysed by the force, the dark Jedi could only watch as Revan walked across to her. He stood quietly, looking at her angry and terrified face and then, with a shake of his head, Revan brought the hilt of his sabre hard against her skull. She slumped to the floor, out cold, and he turned to examine the battle.

Juhani was smashing into the remaining Jedi with vigour. Even with the battle around him, Revan could see how much she was enjoying herself. She was a warrior and in battle all her doubts vanished, replaced by a steely coolness. He watched as she calmly duelled with a much larger Jedi. Her style was a blend of Cathar martial art and Jedi duelling techniques, it used his own strength against him to an impressive success. Even as he swung against her, the Cathar flipped into a low crouch and span to sweep his legs from under him.

Quatra was weaker in sabre combat, her consular skills focusing on the Jedi arts, unlike her protege. Despite this, she was just as capable as Juhani. Her skills in the force made her formidable and Revan watched impressed as she paralysed and then force waved a group of four dark Jedi into unconsciousness. Another Jedi sneaking up behind her was surprised to find her sabre flying though the air towards him, she'd thrown it like a boomerang. She was fine.

His Padawan was also a surprise. Selyne was a capable duellist, almost as skilled as Juhani. She also seemed to have quite a ability using the force if the slumped dark Jedi around her were any indication. Revan thought he'd have to keep her close during this mission and in the near future. Looking at her now, he'd revised his opinion.

Canderous was also busy slicing through the remaining Sith troopers. Unlike the Jedi, his own battle arts didn't bother with trying to incapacitate his enemy, when he hit an enemy they went down, permanently. Despite this, Canderous did seem to have changed during his time with him. Revan watched as a thermal detonator, thrown by one of the troopers at a female republic soldier, was quickly kicked by Canderous back to its thrower and the explosion echoed around the bay. Canderous turned to the exhausted trooper and grinned.

"Got your back girl. Come on, lots of troopers to mop up yet!"

Revan would have agreed, except that the number of troopers and Jedi were rapidly beginning to diminish. He watched in satisfaction as the last few suddenly dropped their weapons and held their hands in the air. Canderous shrugged and turned to help Juhani and Quatra mop up the remaining few dark Jedi.

A sudden chime for his personal com unit made Revan frown. He flipped it out and with a click spoke into it.

"Mission?"

"Rev," Mission's voice sounded worried and, for a second, Revan thought that she was in deep trouble, especially as an explosion sounded over the unit's tiny speaker.

"Statement: Take that you pitiful meatbag!" HK's voice suddenly crackled across the comm. "Request: Miss Mission, I would appreciate you using your very basic pilot skills to find me another target!"

"Shut up!" Mission snapped. "Revan, I've just got a comm call from the cargo haulier's command deck. The attack you've just stunted was a diversion, the real squad of Jedi are assaulting the deck that leads to the bridge. They know that Captain Denara is co-ordinating the defence. If they get her, then the soldiers defending the ships will crumble without her battle plan and co-ordination!"

"Damn," Revan turned as Canderous and his Jedi friends walked up to him, the remaining troopers and unconscious Sith Jedi were being escorted and dragged by the Republic troopers to the brig. "Mission, I need you to fly away from the escort until you're outside the jamming field. Then broadcast code gamma echo red 4 on republic channel six."

"Okay...." Mission sounded reluctant and confused. "Hurry Revan. The Commander says that the leader of this group is a Sith Master. He's lost twenty soldiers to his force powers already. Apparently, he's really skilled in force lightning. Just be careful okay?"

"We will, now hurry Mission!"

"I'm gone!" With a click, Mission ended transmission.

Revan glanced around at his friends, judging their exhaustion. While tired, both Juhani and Quatra looked determined and alert. Selyne, to his surprise, looked as fresh as she had at the beginning of battle. Only a faint sheen of sweat marred her red hair, other than that she was unharmed... almost eager.

"Selyne, are you okay?" Revan asked her and she turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "For a Padawan you showed some real skill with your sabre blade."

"I took lessons from Master Zhar." She muttered to him as she bent down to check her sabre hilt, suddenly calm and composed. "Plus, when Sith attack your home you find out just how skilled you are, and you learn how to survive in combat or you die. I chose to learn."

Revan felt embarrassed and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. She flinched for a second and reaching up, pulled it gently away.

"We should prepare for whatever awaits us on the command deck mas... Revan. Plus, we really should go, right now!"

Revan nodded and glancing at Juhani and Quatra, they all began to run towards the main turbolift. Canderous carefully wiped the blood from his assault blades with a tunic fragment form one of the Sith and ambled after them.


	14. Revenant:chapter3:part3

Part 3.

"Sir, we can't hold then back! Commander Terik. They have sabre's Sir! Every laser bolt we send at them is bounced back! What are we gonna do?"

"We..." Terik Judara, a Commander with sixteen years service, glanced up at the panicked soldier and grimaced. His dark brown eyes stared into the pale face of the soldier with understanding and he ran a hand through his sweaty blond hair. "We have to..." He began, only to be drowned out by a stiff female voice.

"We hold the line soldier, hold then back until we can't hold a blaster anymore!" Captain Denara, a powerfully built woman with icy blue eyes and almost black hair, strode forwards out of the bridge hatch, her hands curled tightly around her own personal pistol. "I've just heard from the young Twi'lek with Jedi Revan, they're on there way. Get back to your position and keep the Sith back, I know you can."

"Y... Yes Captain." The soldier saluted and ran back down the corridor and Denara's gaze followed him along the corridor, examining the soldiers lining the only way to the bridge. The blast door slammed shut behind him and she sighed.

"Are they really coming ma'am?" Terik looked at her face, drawn and worried and sighed. He'd worked with her for a few months and had a handle on interpreting her emotions. "Are they going to get here in time?"

"I don't know. Vao said they were on their way and that was it. Will they reach us before that bastard does?" Denara shivered at the memory of seeing six republic soldiers actually fry in their metal armour as the Sith Master had shot lightening into her group. "I have no idea. Hell, they may not even be able to beat him."

A sudden thumping sound at the blast door at the far end of the corridor made her, Terik and the lining soldiers turn their attention to it. Even as they watched, a dent began to appear in the metal of the door.

"Combat stations everyone," Denara yelled and trained her pistol on the bulging door.

The thumping slowed and then suddenly stopped. As the group watched, the blast door suddenly twisted and bent. Over twenty inches of reinforced battle steel bent and wrinkled from some huge force.

"Force save us." she whispered and, with a shudder, focused on the disintegrating steel.

With a crack of breaking metal, the door was yanked backwards, exposing the corridor behind. Denara gasped in horror. Hanging in the grip of the force was the mangled bloody corpse of the soldier she had been taking too a few minutes back. His body had been pulped almost beyond recognition and as her eyes descended to the battered remains of the blast door and the slimy red stain marring the dent in the middle of it, she realised what had happened. Her stomach lurched and she forced her eyes up to the terrible scene of carnage behind the messy remains.

Her remaining forces behind the door lay in puddles of blood, some missing limbs. The reason for the carnage lay in front of her. A group of eight robed figures; hands raised towards the doorway, stood in the puddles of blood. She shook her head, they were obviously dark Jedi. The Dark Jedi were all grinning, amused by the token resistance they must have come up against, and they slowly lowered their raised hands, the blue glow of the force slowly fading as the blast door fell to the deck with a loud clang.

In the middle of them stood a much taller figure, wearing silver battle armour daubed with various fluids. His hand was still raised and the soldier's body flew to smash with a thud into the ship's hull as he waved it dismissively.

"Ahh, Captain Denara. Surrender or die!" The Sith Master smiled coldly. "I promise that I'll make your death quick... once I've raped your mind for the security codes to the other cargo hauliers. After all, we need as many of the supplies intact as possible."

Denara shivered at his gloating tone and raising her blaster fired a single shot towards the group. With a smooth motion, they all as one ignited their sabre blades and one of the Jedi at the front of the group deflected the bolt back towards the soldiers lining the corridor and one of them crumpled with a gurgle as the bolt smashed into his unprotected eye.

"Tch, tch. Now I suppose I'll have to make your death as painful as possible." The Master ignited his own red blade and turned to the Jedi surrounding him. "I want Denara alive. As for the others, kill them painfully."

Denara felt the blood drain from her face as the Jedi began to walk towards her and the group of soldiers. She knew this was a battle they couldn't win, but the supplies on the other cargo hauliers may survive the battle if only they didn't capture her alive. Shivering, she watched in growing defeat as the dark Jedi walked into her firing soldiers like a force of nature. She closed her eyes against the terrible screams as the first group was cut down brutally.

"Pitiful." The Sith Master began to laugh as the last few soldiers between him and Denara ran away form his forces and formed a single line between them. "You have no hope of defeating me!"

Denara closed her eyes and fought back the tears of defeat she could feel. Despite all they had done the Jedi would arrive too..."

"They may not," A deep exotic female voice announced clearly. "But we do, you Sith scum. Come, try your skill against Jedi of the light!"

"Ahh, more pitiful Jedi Padawan's sent to test me?" He laughed and stared at Denara's suddenly hopeful face. "I killed the last lot they sent to me. Personally!"

The Sith Master turned towards the sound of the voice. His face, however, paled at the sight that met his eyes. The young Cathar in a red knight's tunic, she who had obviously spoken, stood proudly next to a white haired female in a Master's robe and a red haired Jedi Padawan who seemed to carry herself with more skill than her rank described. All, however, paled at the sight of a very familiar face, one he had seen on almost all the holochannels since the defeat of Malak. Now, standing before him, Revan was even more imposing.

"Jedi Revan, betrayer of the Sith." He muttered and felt the consternation of his troops as they too recognised the face coolly staring at them.

"Revan, yes, Betrayer?" Revan grinned at him and his sabre snapped into life as the Sith Master activated his own blade. "Well I would be, if I could remember being the dark lord. But I _am_ Revan. Now, you surrender and I will spare your lives."

The Master held out his hand and an arc of lightening shot towards the Jedi. Revan calmly extended one shining white blade of his dual sabre and the lightning arced itself onto it with a crackle of ozone. Surprised, he tried again and once more the power crackled harmlessly onto the energy blade of Revan's sabre. With a growl of anger, the Sith Master glared around him at his suddenly reluctant dark Jedi.

"I will deal with Revan, you kill the others. Remember there is no weakness amongst the Sith, you will defeat the three easily."

At his words, the Sith glanced amongst each other. Three moved towards the group of Revan's friends, only to pause as the Jedi all ignited their blades together and the Mandalorian with them span the blades he held with a swiftness almost like that of a Jedi.

"I am Jedi Master Quatra, this is Juhani and Selyne. The Mandalorian is Canderous of the clan Ordo." Quatra stepped forwards and the Sith Jedi crouched into defensive stances. "If you surrender, I promise you will not be harmed. But, we will defend the soldiers of the Republic and ourselves if we must."

The Sith Master watched as the three dark Jedi glanced at each other nervously and he snarled, enraged.

"Attack them damn you!" He turned to Revan, who stood in a loose defensive stance and raised his sabre. "I will show you how weak the light is compared to the power of the dark. This pitiful Jedi was once Revan, lord of the Sith. Now, watch as I kill him!"

The Sith Master launched himself at Revan, who caught the swinging sabre blade gently against his own and with a calm side step and adjustment of his sabre blade, turned the attack into a subtle parry. The Master hissed in pain as his own blade skittered along Revan's and slashed across his left wrist. Angry, he screamed defiance at the Jedi before him and began to slash in a chaotic pattern. He charged towards Revan as he did so, trying to take the Jedi through strength. Revan brought his dual blades up once more, each strong swing by the Sith Master deflected through skill, the power turned to reflect away from Revan harmlessly. Exhausted for a few moments, the Sith Master fell back, watched by his own Jedi with growing unease.

"You... you are strong Revan. I thought that your fall to the light would make you weak. I see now that it has allowed you to retain your power. I see now why we must seek to bring you back." He watched as Revan's face twisted in surprise and grinned. "We belong to more than you know, Revan. Malak was a fool to think that all the Sith would allow him to usurp the mantle forever."

"What do you mean?" Revan asked in growing unease and the Master chuckled.

"No, no answers will you get from me Jedi knight!" He raised his blade and spun it tauntingly. "I will either kill you here, or die trying to fulfil my mission. I will not betray the brethren!"

He charged quickly at Revan in a sudden violent attack that caught the Jedi off guard. His red blade managed to slip past Revan's own defences to graze across the knight's ribs, making him yelp in pain. It was a short-lived victory.

Revan's adrenaline kicked in, sharpening the knight's already excellent reflexes even further. The next blow by the Sith Master was deflected by a lightening fast parry. The white blade of Revan's sabre slashed across the dark Masters tunic and it was his turn to cry out as Revan's blade seared a huge arc across the flesh it found there. The blades clashed once more and again the deflection caused the Master to cry out in pain, this time his ear had been cleaved by the tip of Revan's blade. He fell back, clutching the side of his face.

"You are good."

Revan looked at the dark Jedi around them and realised that many had dropped their lightsabre's while the battle between him and their Master had raged.

"I had an excellent teacher, both in this and my previous life." He glanced around and raised his voice. "If you surrender now, all of you, then I promise I will see that you get fair trials."

"What an offer." The Sith Master shook his head and sneered at Revan. "I will not yield to you Revan. We finish this now, one last time!"

He ran at Revan, his humming sabre blade outstretched directly in front of him in a last ditch attempt to vanquish the Jedi before him. Revan sighed in reluctance and with a simple side step, avoided the blade rushing towards him. His own dual blades swung round at an incredible speed. The Sith Master had enough time to utter a single high pitched cry of terror before Revan's blades bit into and through is neck. With a hiss of cauterised tissue, his body fell to the floor, the head rolling off it with a thump to rest at the feet of the horrified dark Jedi.

"We surrender." One cried suddenly, dropping his lightsabre. The other dark Jedi glanced at each other and then at Revan and his own squad of Jedi. With a crash of metal, they all dropped their remaining weapons and raised their hands. Revan turned to Denara.

"Sorry it took so long to get here Captain. We had to finish clearing up the hanger deck before we could get to you." He glanced at the dark Jedi; their hands still raised. "Have you got enough soldiers to take these people into custody?"

"Yes Master Revan," Denara nodded and waved a hand at her remaining soldiers who began to escort the group of dark Jedi down the corridor to the brig.

"Juhani, go with them. I don't want those Jedi getting any ideas." Juhani nodded and Revan turned back to Denara. "Did we loose many troops?"

"Too many," Denara said quietly, looking down at the crumpled corpses. "I hope this will be the end of these damn attacks. Speaking of which we still have the small matter of a Sith interdictor to deal with. As far as I know, the cargo ships under my command don't have sufficient weaponry to deal with that. When they realise their Jedi boarding teams have been defeated, what's to stop them from blowing us into atoms?"

"I've got it covered." Revan muttered and flicked on his personal comm. "Mission?"

"Yeah Rev, I've sent the message you asked me too, and I'm on my way back with the little surprise the Republic's laid on for the Sith. ETA, ten seconds."

"Roger that," Revan clicked the comm off and turned to Quatra. "What do you think he was taking about when he mentioned the Brethren?"

"I have no idea, but whatever it was spells trouble for the Jedi... and for you." She shook her head and glanced at Denara. "First a spy in the heart of the council who is more than likely responsible for the previous losses of cargo and now they're up to something else. We should all be careful, especially you, Revan."

"Sir!" A soldier ran in from the bridge. "The interdictor is under attack from eight squads of bombers and fighters." His face creased into a relieved grin. "We're going to live!"

"Would this be the surprise you had planned Revan?" Denara glanced at the Jedi, who shrugged. "You could have let me in on this."

"I would have, except this was a last minute idea of Admiral Dodonna." Revan watched through the view port as the interdictor was assaulted by multiple proton torpedoes and began to list to one side. "Personally I'm glad she did, I can do many things, even more with my friends, but assaulting an entire interdictor crew... that's a little beyond me, or them."

"Rev, the interdictor is crippled." Mission's voice chimed across the comm unit. "The Sith are negotiating with the lead pilot over surrender terms. Hang on a sec, yeah okay. Rev, the crew have surrendered, the Captain of the ship wants to talk to Captain Denara in person."

"Roger that, Mission. Pick us up will you?" Revan turned to Denara who raised an eyebrow. "Mind if I tag along? I want to be there in case they try anything."

"Very well, Master Jedi." Denara turned to Terik. "Commander, take command of the cargo ship and the Sith prisoners. Master Revan, Master Quatra and myself will go over to the Sith interdictor. Inform the wing leader of the fighters to adopt an escort pattern around the interdictor, but also to keep his weapons trained on the damn thing. If we don't call back within five minutes, order him to fire."

"Yes Captain."

Denara turned to Revan and smiled. "Shall we?"

Interdictor Vessel: Dominator, five minutes later.

"Damn you!" Denara stood politely, hands behind her back, as the Sith Captain glared at her with hatred. "I should have known that these supply trips were a trap. How long have you been waiting to pounce?"

"Not at all Captain. The republic just takes a dim view of losing so many good people and supplies to the Sith when Taris needs them. You pushed, we pushed back with the assistance of the Jedi. Now, if you would be so good as to surrender, I shall instruct the fighters to stand down."

"Terik to Denara." The Commander's voice hummed across the comm. "Just for your information Sir, a Republic cruiser has just hypered into the area. They are here to take command of the interdictor and escort it to Coruscant for re-crewing."

"Very well," Denara glanced up at the seething Sith Captain and cocked an eyebrow. "Sir?"

"Very well, curse you!" The Captain flicked the internal communications on and spoke sharply into it. "This is the Captain, we will stand down and prepare to be boarded. All crew and troopers are to obey this order! The Republic has too many fighters, bombers and a cruiser for us to fight our way out. Nevertheless, the Sith shall eventually triumph, and we shall be free. Out."

"Very nicely done Captain," Revan spoke up, leaning against the console. The Captain stiffened and glanced at the Jedi. "If this is done with minimal bloodshed then I'm all for it. Now, tell me why you have two hundred very frightened, hungry and desperate civilians locked in your hold please."

"What?" The Captain's face slackened and he stared at Revan in horror. "How do you..."

"I am a Jedi, Sir." Revan's voice tightened slightly. "I could feel their terror as soon as I stepped on board. Now, where did you get this many slaves... and where were you going to take them?"

"I... I refuse to answer." The Captain muttered and then gave a gasp of surprise as he felt unseen hands spin him around. "What the..."

"Where!" Quatra asked loudly, also struggling to repress the terrible emotions flowing from below decks. "I am trying to protect you, Captain. There is a Jedi who used to be my apprentice and she takes a very dim view of slavery. If she finds out about this, then I'll have to use all my skill to stop you ending up as bantha fodder. Now, where are they!"

"Deck 56, storage bay 234." The Sith Captain glanced at Denara. "I refuse to answer any more questions."

"Very well." Denara nodded and turned to the four soldiers who had come with them. "Please escort the Captain to his quarters. He is to remain there until the replacement crew come aboard."

"Yes ma'am." They replied and stood politely next to the Captain. "Oh, the other soldiers from the other cargo ships have secured the rest of the ship ma'am. There was little resistance."

"Very well." Denara turned to Revan and Quatra and shrugged. "Come on, let's find these slaves you can sense. The least we can do is get them some food and clothing from the ships stores."

"Right." Revan walked with her into the lift and, after examining the ship diagram, punched in a deck. The lift hissed into action, the counter spinning slowly past each deck. Revan turned to Denara. "I hope the damage the fighters did hasn't caused any fatalities, they hit this ship pretty hard."

With a hiss the lift slowly slid to a halt and Revan and Denara walked out into a long corridor. Revan had a temporary sense of Deja-vu, it was almost identical to the corridors of the Leviathan. He ran his eyes along the labels attached to each door until 'Store: 234' appeared on one. He glanced at Denara and Quatra and with a few taps, unlocked the door. It slid open slowly, and Revan reeled back in shock at the sheer image of despair. Terrified eyes shone in the darkened room at the three. Each one held fear and apprehension, but some showed terror. Worse, were the ones that held a glazed expression, all the humanity they had once possessed, beaten from them. The stench of blood, fear and faeces assaulted them as the slight change in air pressure allowed the rooms air to rush past them in a soft current. For the first time since he had discovered the truth about who he was, Revan felt his stomach lurch and vomit try to slip into his mouth. He coughed and turned away, only to be joined by a pale Quatra and a sickened Denara.

"That, that bastard knew what he was carrying!" Denara muttered and Revan nodded, unable to say anything. "We, we have to get them out of there, we have to!"

"Revan?" A sudden familiar voice echoed down the corridor and Revan looked up in horror. "Revan, I've taken the Sith to the cargo hauliers brig, Mission said you were here. Do you need any help?"

"Juhani?" Quatra gasped and she glanced backwards in apprehension. "Don't come up here!"

"Don't come near you?" The Cathar ambled softly around the corner of the corridor with her usual calm, and for once almost cheerful, expression. "Why not?"

She walked up and for a few seconds, stared at her friends pale faces before turning to stare into the darkened room. For what seemed like an age to Revan, Juhani's suddenly stiff body, her face turned away from him, stared into the pit of hell they'd uncovered. He watched as a single hand raised slightly to press against her mouth and a tiny keening noise that echoed around the corridor slipped from her. Composing himself, Revan stood up and, braving the stench, walked over to his friend and gently pulled her around. He closed his eyes in sympathy as her agony over childhood memories slammed into him, a gasp from Quatra the only sound, as she too felt the terrible pain.

"Ju..." Revan whispered and opening his eyes, stared up at her face. A rictus of pain marred her usually calm expression and the fur under her eyes was wet with the tears that trickled down them. "It's okay, we've got to them before they'll be sold into slavery."

"I... I am a Jedi." She whispered her voice raw. "I should not have these emotions, I should be calm. T... the.... there is no emotion, o...only peace."

"Don't Juhani," Quatra looked at her ward with empathetic sympathy. "It's okay to feel these emotions. Don't bottle the pain up, it makes it worse. Control your emotions but feel them!"

"I do not wish to." Juhani managed, gasps slipping into her voice. "I... want to forget what happened to me!"

"I know," Revan murmured. "When you just want to curl into a ball and scream in anger at the universe for what it's done to you, for what it is doing to you." He sighed and Juhani realised that he was possibly the only one who knew what she was going through. "But it doesn't work that way Ju, we have to struggle on."

He pulled her gently back and gently handed her to Quatra. "We have to get these people out of there and deal with them. Denara, can you see if there are any medics from the cargo ships available? Juhani, Quatra, can you find some emergency ration packs from the barracks on this level?"

"Sure, Revan." Quatra muttered and Denara nodded at him.

"Right. I'll also go and see if I can find some clothing." She turned away from the terrible cargo hold, a determined expression on her face. "Terik, Denara... we have a situation that _must_ take priority here!"

Revan watched her go and glanced at Juhani and Quatra as one escorted the other away form the horrible site. He turned back to the dark room and calling on the force to calm his nerves, stepped through. The whimpers of various races, and sexes assaulted him and all the time he could feel the fear rising from the group. Finally a shuffling figure wandered out of the darkness and stopped in front of him.

"Master Jedi," A male voice whispered hoarsely and Revan nodded. "My name is Danei, I was one of the civilians at the enclave on Dantooine. They captured many of us when they attacked the Jedi."

"So why aren't you at a slave market?" Revan asked reluctantly and the old man chuckled with no humour. "Slave labour, we were being used by the Sith. That's why we're on this ship, they were shipping us back from a Sith base on a tiny planet on the outer rim called Almania. It's where the Sith exchange prisoners to the Exchange for money, supplies, you name it."

Revan sighed and looked around. Now that one of their own was talking to him in a natural manner, many were beginning to shuffle out of the shadows. Revan could only repeat the various Jedi disciplines to prevent himself from breaking into tears. All around he could only see the wounds, injuries and mistreatments that they had obviously had received from the Sith guards.

"Well, you're safe now, all of you are. The republic will be landing a crew onto this ship to take command and medics are on their way to look at your injuries. After that I'm sure you'll be given quarters on this ship while it's taken to Coruscant."

"Thank you Master Jedi." Danei nodded and for the first time, Revan could see a few tiny smiles in the masks around him. "Tell me, you do know about the fifteen Jedi prisoners that are on Almania, yes?"

"What?" Revan looked at him in shock and Danei nodded. "Jedi prisoners? Who?"

"The Sith Jedi on this damn vessel kept talking about it to us. They were gloating over us mortals, always saying how easy it was to capture the very Jedi everyone was hoping would rescue us."

"But they're still alive?" Revan asked him urgently and Danei nodded.

"Oh yes. The men are being used by the Sith there for sabre practice, so I really have no idea how many may still be alive." Danei looked across as Juhani walked slowly into the room, handing out ration bars by the handful. "The females are being used for.... for."

"Oh hell." Revan muttered, the expression on the old man's face more than enough. A fur covered hand gently pressed a ration bar into Danei's hand and Juhani stood softly next to Revan, her face a portrait of undisguised empathy.

"Hello Danei, I'm very glad to see you survived." She whispered and the old man smiled softly.

"Hello Juhani. I'm glad to see you survived also," He took the bar she kept proffering gently from her grasp. "An old caretaker like me was of such little importance to the damn Sith."

"At least you're alive," Juhani said gently and he nodded. "I... I need to know Danei, did Belaya make it?"

"Oh honey, you don't know?" Danei looked at her with tears in his eyes and Juhani stiffened in horror. "She was killed by the Sith, on Dantooine. I saw it myself."

"No!" Juhani cried in pain, and only Revan's quick hand around her waist stopped her from crumbling to the floor. "How!"

"She was trapped by six Sith Masters, Juhani. I thought they were going to butcher her on the spot... so did they." Danei shook his head in recall. "Just as they were about to attack her, another Jedi joined her, a blue Twi'lek. Funny, I recall she was wearing a much more worn and grubby version of their uniform, but she ignited her sabre and stood with Belaya. I've never seen anything like it in all my days at the enclave! She managed to cut down three of them; always protecting Belaya, and when she couldn't hold them back any more, she told her to run while she held them off."

Revan swallowed, he knew who had tried to save Belaya. A woman who thought she had no place amongst people who believed in self sacrifice to protect the weak. "Then what?"

"Well, they attacked her again and this time, one managed to break through her defences." Danei's old face was wrinkled with sadness and his eyes moistened. "He managed to wound her, broke both her legs, _after_ she fell to the floor with force knows how many sabre burns... said something to her that I couldn't hear and then laughed. The others ran after Belaya and it was about five minutes later that... that."

"That what?" Juhani whispered, tears pouring down her face once more.

"That they dragged her body back to the clearing." Danei's own tears trickled down his face as he stared at the young Cathar. "She must have fought like a demon though, Juhani. One was badly wounded and the others all had injuries, I could tell."

"What happened to the Twi'lek?" Revan asked gently and Danei turned to him with a sickened expression.

"Well, she was stuffed in here with us, and we did what we could for her. Bastards kept us in there with no medical supplies, so she had to endure the pain of two broken legs. Poor lass couldn't heal herself, I don't think she knew how. After about a week I think it was, they unloaded her at Almaria. I heard one talk about her new... job." He broke off with a choke and Revan's face paled. "She's still alive, of that I'm sure. The sick bastards have plans for her, said they wanted to turn her into what she feared the most.... Do you know her?"

Revan nodded. "Her name is Yuthura, she was a Sith I managed to turn back to the light. She was a slave, but she escaped from her Master and was found by the Jedi. It was the anger she felt towards slavers that made her fall to the darkside, but she came back to the light when I reminded her of her desire to help them. I suppose they've enslaved her again, a terrible thing for someone who escaped once."

"Then you have to do something young Jedi!" Danei coughed at his exertion and Juhani gently helped him to sit on the floor. "Both of you must! Juhani, she tried to save Belaya... you have to help her, please!"

"We will, I promise that to you and to Belaya." Juhani turned to Revan, her eyes hard, and he nodded. "We must move as fast as possible. The more we wait, the greater the chance Yuthura will be sold into slavery or die."

"No arguments here," Revan replied. He nodded gently at the old man, who smiled and sat back against the hull. Turning, Revan walked out of the hold as quickly as he could, Juhani on his heels. Quatra, handing out blankets delivered by some republic soldiers at the entrance, turned as they strode past her. Sensing both Jedi's determination, she ran up to them.

"What is it?" She asked and Juhani glanced at her Master with fire in her eyes. "Juhani, what's the matter?"

"Belaya is dead, she has joined the force. But the woman who tired to protect her is alive and being subjected to who knows what. I must rescue her, Master. For Belaya's memory and my own honour"

Revan flicked on his comm. "Mission, power up the Hawk. We've got a new mission. Oh, and can you clear a comm channel through the Republic gunboat would you? I need Dantooine and the new Jedi enclave."

"Sure Rev, what's going on?" Mission asked, curiosity in her voice.

"We're off to save someone we both know, Yuthura Ban."

"Yuthura? That cracked dark Jedi?" Mission shook her head in the Hawk's cockpit. "Why the Sith should we risk our lives to save her?"

"She tried to save Juhani's friend Belaya from a load of dark Jedi Masters. She got two broken legs and force knows what else in return."

"Oh, and Belaya?"

"She didn't make it Mission." Revan sighed at the silence from the comm. "But Juhani has decided to rescue Yuthura and I intend to help her."

"Well, if she did help Belaya, then I was wrong about her. Besides, I suppose everyone is allowed to turn over a new leaf. After all, my best friend did."

Revan smiled slightly. "Yes he did, and he would now like you to get your blue butt into the interdictors hanger bay."

"On my way Rev." Mission clicked off broadcast and Revan turned to see Denara walking back with three medics, who began to tend to the slaves as quickly as possible.

"I'm going to be cracking a Sith slavery base, and it might just be a tad hard. I don't suppose you fancy coming along with a few troops and giving us a hand?"

Denara smiled, her eyes bright. "A chance, I take it, to attack the people responsible for the mess in there?" Revan nodded. "Then I'm in, how many troops do you need?"

"Well, the Hawk is small so we'll all be hot bunking on the way there. Plus we'll have slaves with us, about fifteen, on the way back... Let's say four troops? The one's you can trust I think."

"Right, I'll pick them from the cargo hauliers when we get back on board." Denara walked with him to the lift, where Juhani and Quatra stood waiting. "Terik will stay on the hauliers to deliver the cargo and assist in the supply redistribution. Let's move!"


	15. Revenant:chapter3:part4

Planet Almeria, five days later.

The Ebon Hawk shot into real space and hurtled towards the rim planet of Almeria. Inside, Mission glanced over as the comm chimed, the Sith traffic control had detected them.

"This is Contara base, identify yourselves!" A voice snapped across the speaker and Mission grimaced. "If you do not identify yourselves within two minutes, we will open fire!"

"This is the private transport vessel 'Sith's kiss', I have a Sith Master who wishes to partake of your entertainment's." Mission glanced at the pad where Revan had jotted down the details she needed. T4 had rewritten the Hawk's transponder to mimic a Sith pleasure transport's usual ident.

"Wait, while we check your transponder details." The voice, mollified, asked her. Mission crossed her fingers and tapped her foot anxiously. "Very well, may I have the name of the Sith Master you are transporting?"

"She is my mistress Sir, I am her slave." Mission grimaced, but she had to act. "Her name is Lashowe, she was attached to the academy."

"I see, please wait. The academy was badly damaged in an accursed Jedi assault." Mission grinned, an assault by three people. "We have only partial records, in fact only basic information. But it should be enough to verify her name when she comes to the base. I hope she will not object to a DNA scan?"

"No, of course not. We understand the precautions, sir." Mission glanced at the rapidly approaching planet. "The Sith have enough problems as it is. Shall I inform my mistress that we have landing clearance?"

"Certainly, welcome to Contara base."

Sith's kiss acknowledges. Out." Mission sighed in relief and jumping up from the pilot seat, ran to the crew annex. Revan, Canderous, Quatra and Denara looked up at her entry and Revan cocked his head.

"Well? Did they buy it?"

"Yup," Mission grinned and waved her hand. "Thanks to some superb acting by yours truly, plus the excellent programming by T3, we have landing clearance."

"Well done kid," Revan smiled at her frown. "Figure of speech Mish. Now, lets go over the plan once more. We fly towards Contara base's entertainment's sector, but along the way is a security centre. Canderous and Denara will be dropped mid flight on my swoop bike. The repulsors on it should be more than enough to slow them for a soft landing. T3 will go with them; he has in built thrusters for space repairs so he should be able to land as softly as you two should. Once down, head to the security centre and sneak in. Get T3 to the primary security computer. Once there he needs to hack into the files from the academy and change Lashowe's data to match Quatra's. He also must hack into the bases alert system and block any security alert, just in case."

"Not a problem Revan." Canderous grinned. "Any Sith meeting us will regret it, I promise. We'll get the tin can to the security system or I'm no Mandalorian."

"Which I can assert you are." Revan turned to Quatra. "Now, while they are doing that, you, Juhani and Mission will head for the main slave centre. Once there, you must act the part of a Sith Master who wants some... entertainment. If the host bites, you need to ask about the rumour's you've heard."

"Rumour? What rumour?"

"The rumour that Yuthura Ban, betrayer of the Sith, is here and available for specific entertainment's. Flash as many credits as he needs, I've got enough, and when he or she bites that's where Juhani and Mission come in."

"Okay," Quatra glanced around. "Juhani should hear this."

"Hmmm," Revan nodded and got up from the table. "I'll go."

He walked gently towards the rear cargo hold. It was dim at the back, the lights had been lowered so that only a faint glow hung over the few drums and storage bins that remained at the back of the Hawk. With a sigh, Revan walked towards the faint glow of a lit candle and the cross-legged figure. As he came closer, he could hear the soft, exotic words of a Cathari warrior prayer. Juhani, her eyes closed and the fur under them wet once more, chanted quietly, softly and Revan waited patiently for her to finish.

"May she find peace in the light." Juhani finished with a sigh and her yellow eyes glowed in the dim light as her lids slipped open. "Revan, what can I do for you?"

"We're at Almeria and about to approach the base. I need to go over the plan with you."

"Very well," Juhani said quietly and rose in one fluid motion. "Let's get this over with."

They walked together back to the crew annex and Canderous, Quatra and Denara looked up at their approach.

"We're on decent, so Denara, myself and T3 are about to go." Canderous buckled the assault blades he carried to his belt. "Good luck, and may the hands of Mandalore guide us."

"Good luck Canderous." Revan nodded at him and the two soldiers walked out of the annex. Revan turned to Juhani, Quatra and Mission. "Okay. Juhani, Mission... you two are the only hope Yuthura has. When Quatra asks for Yuthura to 'entertain her', she'll ask for you two to be taken to her."

"Why would they let us go to see Yuthura?" Juhani asked and glanced across as Mission coughed. " I doubt they would let anyone but slaves visit the holding chambers..." She paused and glanced at Revan in growing unease. "You wish me to act as a slave for Master Quatra."

Revan nodded and gently touched her arm. "We have to act as realistically as possible. Doubtless, they'll want to check that you two are slaves. Juhani you're the only one who was enslaved, so you know how to act I hope. Mission's a good actress, so she'll be able to take her cue from you." Revan paused and looked at Juhani with compassion. "If you can do this, that is."

"I have sworn to rescue Yuthura on my honour and Belaya's memory. So, tell me the rest of the plan."

"The idea is that Quatra will want you to prepare Yuthura for her. Really, you'll be there to release her from whatever restraints she's held in. Once that's done, I need you to find as many of the slaves as possible and free them. Smuggle them out the back, while Quatra causes a diversion in the bar. I'll be waiting with the Hawk at the rear entrance. If any Jedi or troopers follow you, Selyne and myself will take care of them while you secure Yuthura and the others onboard. Once Quatra is aboard, we'll pick up Canderous, Denara and T3 and get out of there as fast as possible. Sound good?"

"It should work... why are you not coming? Oh, and what about weapons? I have an idea of where I could hide one of the short lightsabre's." She paused as Mission stifled a giggle and shook her head. "My hair is long enough for the sabre to be wrapped into it as decoration. I can disguise it with some ribbons."

"Sounds good, get on it. As for me coming with you... A Cathar slave is a Cathar slave as far as the Sith are concerned, and Mission is young enough to have very few discerning features. Quatra has been on missions far away from here, so I doubt any of the dark Jedi knows what she looks like." Revan looked at them and frowned. "Unfortunately, my face has been plastered on every damn holoscreen for the past few weeks, so I think it's safe to say almost every Sith knows what I look like. How many of the Sith would love to have a crack at me if they could? If I go with you, I think we'd get as far as the docking bay control panel before every guard jumps us. So I can't. But I will be able to create a diversion with Quatra that should give you two ample time to escape with everyone."

"Yes, I see. Quatra is the only choice as the Sith Master to give us a reason to go in there." Juhani nodded, deep in thought.

Revan turned to Mission. "They'll be scanning for standard weapons, so I don't think you'll be able to carry any guns..."

"No problem, I'll carry my electronic lockpicks, you never know when those'll come in handy." Mission got up from the table and gripped Juhani's arm. She grinned slyly at the Cathar. "Come on Ju, you need to educate me in cute slave girl attire!"

Juhani sighed and with a suffering glance at Revan, allowed herself to be yanked by the young girl from the table. Revan, however, stared at the holo and sighed. Despite all his planning, anything could go wrong with this mission. There were too many variables in this plan for his liking and he wasn't going to be there to help them if anything went wrong with stage one.

"Revan, we're on approach." Selyne called from the cockpit. "I'm putting her down next to 'The slaves ribbons.' It seems to be where all the dark Jedi are going."

"Okay, Once we're down, inquire if Master Quatra may have a meeting with the proprietor to discuss a 'special request'." He glanced over the plan and sighed. It was now or never. Getting up, Revan walked towards the cockpit and settled into the co-pilots chair. He leaned across and flicked on a secure comm channel.

"Canderous?"

"Revan, stage one complete," Canderous's voice was ecstatic. He'd obviously been in battle. "We're proceeding to the security computer, give us four minutes to take care of things and plug the little tin can in."

"Okay, Revan out." He flicked the comm off and glanced at Selyne. "Here we go, the game begins."

"Let's hope we're holding a full pazzak hand!" Selyne muttered as the flashing lights of the docking bay began to fill the Hawk's cockpit windows.

"I can feel a draft," Mission's voice echoed into the cockpit and Revan turned to stare in shock at the young Twi'lek. "In fact, I can feel drafts everywhere!"

"Yes well," Mission wore a gold bikini with a purple silk skirt and what looked like a slavery tattoo on one arm. Revan shook his head at the young teenager. "I can't say I'm surprised... Where the hell did you get that little ensemble?"

"One of the storage bins at the back, Davik _was_ a slaver after all. The tats a temporary." Mission grinned. "Wait until you see Juhani though, she's even cuter, must be the fur!"

Revan shook his head at Mission's grin and got up from the seat to walk back into the crew annex. The first thing he saw upon walking in was a large expanse of fur covered buttock. He looked up as Juhani turned to see her glaring at him.

"Just one word, Revan," she hissed and raising her hands adjusted the lightsabre, concealed by ribbons wrapped completely around it, in her hair.

Juhani's dress consisted of red ribbons woven into a lattice, and little else. They were wrapped around her tightly in a concealing pattern, but it only served to make her almost naked appearance more apparent.

"I feel like a Sierabian flux herder!" She muttered as she slowly adjusted the ribbons for maximum effect. "If you tell anyone about this Revan, I will never speak to you again!"

"Well, it's tempting... but okay, I promise this stays between our little group. I have to say though," Revan stared at his two friends and swallowed slightly. "I think anyone who sees you two, wearing that little lot, will definitely buy our ruse!" Revan glanced at her bare arm and frowned. "Mission's got a slave tattoo on her arm... It might be a good idea if you did too."

Juhani shuddered and looked away. "Do not worry. If anyone asks, I do have one. But I will only display my shame if absolutely necessary."

Revan didn't push it, he knew how touchy Juhani was about her past, and instead looked around. "Where's Quatra?"

"Getting ready." Mission tucked the tiny electronic lockpicks she owned into the space between her flesh and the metal Bikini. "Dunno how long it takes someone to put dark mascara around her eyes."

"Sith Master Quatra, _is_ ready." A voice muttered unhappily from the corridor leading to the crew bunks.

All three friends glanced up and only Juhani didn't burst out laughing at the Jedi Master standing forlornly in front of them. Quatra, her eyes red from temporary gel based contact lenses and sporting blackened eyelids, scowled at their mirth and sniffed.

"Okay, okay... the only Sith tunic on this damn crate is one size too small for me. So, laugh it up if you must!"

Revan shook his head at the sight of the black Sith tunic almost painfully stretched tight across Quatra's more... ample, upper body. "Can you fight in that?"

"Fight? I can't even breathe deeply! But I suppose I drew a longer straw than my Padawan," Quatra glanced at Juhani's dress and the Cathar, to Missions surprise, actually blushed. "At least I'm actually wearing enough not to catch a chill by simply walking outside. Now, are we ready?"

Sith slavery bar: "The slave's ribbons."

"Ahh, Master Lashowe, I am Rebuik the owner of this establishment." Quatra smiled as realistically as she could at the female Rodian who had walked up to her. "I understand you wish a... 'Special accommodation'?"

"Well, only if certain rumours I've heard are true," Quatra glanced around the bar and nodded at the Rodian graciously. "Tell me, is it true you have Yuthura Ban, betrayer of the Sith as a slave in this establishment?"

The Rodian looked at her in surprise and her eyes narrowed. "Maybe, what would your interest be in her, even if she was here?"

Quatra glanced at Juhani, who had kept her head bowed in a respectful manner since leaving the Hawk, and then at Mission, who also seemed to be trying to act meek and obedient. The plan had been, so far, surprisingly successful.

They had left the Hawk fifteen minutes ago and had walked straight into the registration sector without any outward sign of nerves. Quatra had been asked to provide a DNA sample of some skin and had waited hile her nerves had jangled, as it had been tested. Only her Jedi calming techniques had allowed her to berate the guard for taking so long. For a few moments she had actually thought that T3 had been unable to hack the ident files and her 'adopted' name would never appear in the list of authorised Sith Masters. Eventually he'd waved them through, after Quatra had explained, with Juhani and Mission's eyes boring into her, why she had a Cathar and Twi'lek in tow. Now she stood, with two scantily clad females, in the middle of a Sith base, surrounded by Sith troopers and one or two dark Jedi.

"I was trained by Master Uthar, so I owe Yuthura one for killing him before I could!" Quatra scowled as best she could. "It was my right to challenge him for control of the academy, not that blue weakling! Then, just when I get a chance to go back to the academy, she's run away to the pathetic Jedi!"

"I see..." Rebuik glanced around and lowered her voice. "And your, ahem, wish? I won't have my prize artefact damaged in any non-repairable way."

Quatra swallowed back bile and tried to not vomit. The lack of humanity being displayed in front of her was disturbing. She glanced at Juhani only to see the flash of anger in the Cathar's eyes and the trembling muscles of her hands.

"I was hoping for a little... fun." Quatra forced herself to smile. "Hence, my most trusted pleasure slaves here."

"Ahhh, an orgy." Rebuik grinned. "And Yuthura's role in this?"

"Well, I take it you've been feeding her very little, yes?" Quatra watched as Rebuik nodded, grinning in a sly way. "_There is no emotion only peace, there is no emotion only peace" _her mind chanted"I thought a sumptuous feast shared by us three, while I use her as a table, then... well, you get the idea. I want her humiliated, to know that I consider her dirt!"

"Very well," Rebuik held out a hand. "Two thousand credits, not a penny less I'm afraid."

Quatra stared at her greedy face and stepped on the urge to punch it, she was a Jedi Master. "Very well." She held out her hand and proffered the credit chit that Revan had given her on the Hawk. As Rebuik checked the credit limit encoded on it's wafer chip, her obsidian eyes widened and she looked up at her.

"Of course, you'll require a luxury selection of foods, oils and equipment." The Rodian grinned. "That will cost extra, but I promise it will be of the highest quality."

"Of course," Quatra smiled, genuinely this time. Revan had been right, she was greedy and money made her ignore any flaws in Quatra's supposedly Sith attitudes. "Now, could you please escort my slaves to the chamber where Yuthura is being held, they need to prepare themselves and her."

"Well, I can't show them to where Yuthura is at the moment, I have two customers who wished to amuse themselves with some neural torture. But I'll have your slaves shown to the best pleasure chamber that I have available. When the customers have finished with Ban, I'll have her taken to the chamber." Rebuik smiled slyly. "Does that meet with your approval Master Lashowe?"

"Of course," Quatra said while her mind reeled in desperation. The more time they spent here, the greater the chance they would be discovered. "I shall unwind at the bar with a few drinks. Cathar, take Miri and prepare the room for me."

Juhani looked up and, for a second, Quatra could see annoyance sparkle in her eyes. She silently exulted her apprentice to control her emotions and Juhani visibly shivered.

"Of course my mistress. Come... Miri, we must get ready." Juhani whispered. She bowed deeply to Quatra and stood obediently next to the hostess that Rebuik had called over. A sudden thought seemed to strike her and she turned to Quatra. "Mistress, would you prefer lashnut milk or serreeba oil this time?"

Quatra's eyes widened in surprise. "Uh, lashnut milk I think." She managed, "We used serreeba oil last time."

"Yes, mistress." Mission chipped in with a faint smile. "I know how much you love the glow it gives Cathar fur."

"Yes, well." Quatra's smile was wound a little too tightly and she tried to loosen it, hoping Rebuik wouldn't notice. "Go with the guard and I'll be along as soon as I've had a few drinks to unwind. Now, hurry along."

Juhani bowed once more and the hostess led the Cathar and the Twi'lek away towards the back of the vast room. Quatra bowed slightly to Rebuik and turned away to the bar. As she walked towards it, her mind was wandering. As a Jedi she didn't believe in luck, only in the will of the force, and for once she hoped that the force truly was with them all one hundred percent. She had a feeling they'd need it.

"Here are the pleasure quarters assigned to you." The hostess had escorted Juhani and Mission to a plush room with a massive bed covered in sheets of deep purple silk and plump cushions. The decor oozed richness and sin, and Mission's eyes widened in surprise at some of the murals displayed on the wall. "The oils, and equipment you may need are to be found in the dresser over there. The food will be along as soon as you ask for it. Now, I have to attend to the guests downstairs."

"Thank you." Juhani said quietly, glancing around the room, and she bowed slightly. "I shall begin to prepare." As the hostess began to leave Juhani piped up once more. "Just one thing, I shall need some ice, where may I obtain it?"

"Ice?" The hostess shrugged and pointed down the corridor outside their room. "There is a drink, food and ice synthesiser down the corridor. Please feel free to use it. Now, I really must go."

"Of course." Juhani nodded and smiled toothily as the hostess departed at a quick walk. "Miri, lets get ready."

Mission nodded and gently reached into the gold bikini she was wearing to pull her lockpicks and another tiny device from the hidden spaces. She twisted the tip of the pencil like device and waved it purposely around the room. After a few minutes she shrugged and looking at Juhani, shook her head.

"Clear," She whispered and tucked the pencil device back into the tiny alcove. "What the hell did you ask for ice for?"

"So we have a valid reason to leave this room. We are very close to the entrance and the guards, so I thought it prudent to have a good excuse. No doubt the hostess has mentioned we may go for ice and other things."

"Good idea," Mission muttered and with a final look around the plush room she turned to Juhani, all business. "Now, where the Sith spit is Yuthura gonna be in this place?"

"I'm going to try and locate her using the force, so be patient please." Juhani settled on the floor and closed her eyes. She stretched out her feeling and for a few moments cast around, past all the other dark Jedi. Finally she focused on a familiar aura and with a slight exertion of her own force ability, the aura exploded into greater detail. She opened her eyes and looked up at Mission with a faint smile.

"Four doors down on the right. Lets go." She rose and walked towards the door. "Remember, Mission, we are obedient, meek slaves going to fetch supplies. So, try and act like that if you can."

"Sure Cathar slave Juhani," Mission sniggered at Juhani's backward glance and waved her hands. "Sorry, too tempting to pass up."

"Focus," Juhani whispered and slid the door open. "Come, we must be as fast as possible. Remember, the more time we waste here, the greater the chance Canderous, Denara and T3 will be discovered."

"Sure, lets move." Mission walked up to join thre Cathar and glanced out the door. "You find Yuthura and free her. I'll go and find the other slaves if I can and free as many as possible."

"Right, Mission?" Mission turned and raised an eyebrow. "Be careful, as careful as possible. I've lost one friend, I don't want to lose another."

Mission nodded, a small smile trickling across her lips and she turned to quietly glide out of the room. Juhani waited for a few seconds and then also stepped softly outside into the corridor.

She walked softly down the red lit, plush carpeted corridor. Her Jedi and Cathar senses tuned to pick up anything that may cause her problems. She stopped at each door and glanced around until she was sure that no one noticed her passage. With a gentle motion, she reached up to her mane of black hair. She gently unfurled the ribbons wrapped into it, to expose the tiny silver tube in its heart and her hand curled gently around it. With it nestled in her grasp, she felt safer and her pace quickened, she had to rescue Yuthura.

Mission walked softly down the corridor adjacent to the one that she saw Juhani slip down. She knew that Yuthura's rescue was going to be a personal affair for the Cathar. Her friend had been devastated by her ex lover's death, and it had only been the determination to rescue the one who had tried to save her, that had kept Juhani focused. Mission wanted to help her in any way possible, but she knew that Juhani was a loner at heart and she decided that she would help her by rescuing the other prisoners.

A sudden roar of approval from one of the rooms made her jump, but the voices that came after made her eyes widen in shock.

"Excellent. Now, my little Twi'lek, I want another dance and this time make it without the veils." A male voice, drunk and demanding.

"Yeah, get ya blue butt dancing, you little minx!" Another voice... also male and more inebriated than the last. "I wanna see s... some flesh this time!"

"I... I need a break," The voice that had made Mission blanch was female, soft and so, so familiar. "I've been dancing for you two, for four hours now. Please, let me rest!"

"Heh, for a slave caught at the enclave, you're a little demanding." The deeper voiced of the two sniggered. "What's the matter, the Jedi give you idea's above your station?"

"Yeah, want us to teach you a lesson?"

"No Master's," The female voice was exhausted and Mission shivered at the quiver in it. "I... I just need a second to freshen up."

"No, get dancing!" The voices both roared and, with a frown, Mission decided to step in.

"Excuse me Masters," She announced, striding in. "This slave is needed elsewhere in the complex." She glanced at the two drunk Sith and noted they were ordinary troopers. "A regular of hers, a Sith Master, has arrived and wishes to be entertained."

"Oh, really?" The larger of the two muttered and glanced across at the pale face of his friend. "Well, fine, but we did pay for a days entertainment!"

"Of course. Mistress Rebuik is currently finding a replacement dancer for you." Mission glanced at the Twi'lek leaning against the sense pole with exhaustion and felt her stomach lurch. "Now, may I take her to her next appointment?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever." The large Sith trooper muttered and reached for another bottle of alcohol. Mission waved her hand and the Twi'lek staggered off the stage and into the corridor. Mission bowed to the two troopers and closed the door.

"Thank you," The Twi'lek muttered, her sweat matted Lekku draped loosely over her shoulders. "But Rebuik will kill you for getting me away from those morons."

"Lena," Mission stared at her brothers ex lover in dismay. Dressed in a Tertian silk tight-suit, Mission could only stare at the slightly emaciated curves that it displayed. When she had known Lena, she'd had a physique only attainable by a devoted professional dancer. Now, due to force knew what, Lena's body was thinner, slightly wasted, and she clutched her side and winced occasionally. "It's me, Mission, don't you recognise me?"

"M... Mission," Lena stared at her ex lover's sister in horror. "Oh no, I thought you'd escaped!" She glanced around the corridor and reached out a shaking hand. "Come on, you're small enough to slip away unnoticed! I'll get you to the slave quarters waste hatch, you can slip down if I hold your hand."

"It's okay, Lena," Mission swallowed at the sight of a woman she once hated, so desperate to save her. "I'm not a slave. I'm here with Revan, and my other Jedi friends. We're here to rescue you and as many of the others as we can."

"You.... You're here to save me?" Lena asked her, eyes filled with sudden hope. Mission felt sick at her expression. She's been so confident, so happy. Now, she looked tired and desperate. "How? We're surrounded by Sith!"

"Let me worry about that. Now, how many prisoners are there?" Mission asked, taking Lena gently by the hand and escorting her down the corridor. "Also, where are they?"

"Five," Lena whispered and Mission stopped suddenly, turning to her in horror. "We lost the men over three days ago."

"How many?" Mission whispered and Lena closed her eyes.

"Six, all through unfair duelling." Her eyes snapped open, preferring the corridor to whatever she saw behind her eyelids. "They made us watch!"

"And the other four women?" Mission asked, dreading the answer.

"They died in an escape attempt. All shot trying to sneak away from the base." Lena sighed and glanced around. "Please tell me you've got a plan."

"First we go get Juhani, help her free Yuthura." Mission tiptoed down the red lit corridor. "Then, we'll get the others and escape out the back."

"Yuthura?" Lena followed right behind her. "That poor woman's taken the brunt of everything they've been doing to us. I don't know what their problem is but she's been though hell. I think her mind's snapped, we hear her screaming at night."

"Snapped, you mean she's lost it?" Mission stared at Lena and the Twi'lek nodded. "Hell! Well, we've got to rescue her regardless, Juhani has sworn her honour on it and I'm gonna help her!"

"You haven't changed much have you." Lena said softly, with the first genuine smile Mission had seen since rescuing her, trickling across her face. "It's good to see such innocence again."

"Yeah, well." Mission felt a blush slip onto her face. "I've seen a lot, been through a lot. But I'm still the bubbly Mission I've always been. Come on, let's move!"

Juhani paused outside the door where she'd felt Yuthura's aura coming from. She glanced around, warrior senses stretched as far as possible for any sign of movement and then leaned towards the door. She could hear laboured breathing from behind it and, with another quick glance around, she opened the door a tiny crack. Her yellow eyes narrowed at the sight behind the door. Two dark Jedi stood over a metal rack and from the muffled sounds coming from it, Yuthura had to be strapped to its unforgiving frame. For a few seconds, Juhani wondered what they were doing to her, but then one of them began to speak.

"Hurry up!" He snarled and Juhani watched as the Jedi tossed his lightsabre up and down in his palm. "The longer we take, the greater the chance we'll be discovered!"

"Shut up!" Juhani's eyes flickered to the other as a female voice issued from the hood. "She's resisting the damn poison, so it's going to take at least another five minutes to inject enough of this stuff into her!"

"Did the Master tell you why she wants Yuthura Ban dead? Besides the obvious 'betrayer of the Sith' scope I mean." The male Jedi toyed with his hilt. "I hate her too, but this seems a fitting punishment. After all, didn't she escape slavery? That was the rumour about her past, yeah?"

"That's what I heard, but you know why!" The female Jedi turned to the male and Juhani could see Yuthura, eyes wide, struggling as the dark Jedi held a hypo against her neck. From the look of agony on her face, she was using every ounce of force power she possessed to stay alive. "She wants the bitch dead before Revan tries to rescue her!"

"Ah, come on!" the male Jedi growled. "She's in the middle of a heavily armed Sith base. Even Revan's not dumb enough to try and rescue her, no matter what the Master thinks."

"Do you want to tell her that? Or shall I just keep injecting her with this stuff and we'll do the mission?" The female turned back to the struggling Twi'lek. "Just keep thinking of the kudos we'll get in the brotherhood for pulling this off. Remember, our main goal is Revan!"

Juhani felt her skin go cold. What the hell did they want with Revan, what was the brotherhood? Why was it so important for them to remove Yuthura? All the thoughts ran through her head, but a muffled scream from Yuthura made her focus on the here and now. The Twi'lek ex Sith, was rapidly losing the fight with whatever they were pumping into her, and Juhani decided to act.

Quietly, she rose from her crouched position and pulled the short sabre from the waist ribbon she'd slid it under. "_At least_," she thought with a brief, feral smile, as the male dark Jedi turned away from the door. "_This slave dress gives me ample movement. Now, for Belaya!_"

Juhani yanked the door open as fast as possible and the small sabre snapped into ignition with the familiar snap hiss. The purple blade extended quickly and Juhani struck as hard and as fast as possible into the back of the male dark Jedi's skull. He fell without a single sound and the female Jedi turned in shocked horror, raising her hand to use the force. Juhani was faster and waved her own hand as she concentrated. The Jedi froze in place, paralysed by the force and Juhani swung as hard as she could. The second Jedi crumpled, also silently, and Juhani quickly snapped the sabre off. She crossed to the door and slid it shut, her Cathar hearing, enhanced even further by the force, aware for any noise.

"The vision..." A weak, throaty voice muttered behind her and Juhani, sure now that no guards would be called, turned to stare at the exhausted Twi'lek on the rack. "You are my vision, real, vision, real!"

"I am real, I promise." Juhani stared at Yuthura and sighed. "What have they done to you?"

Yuhura stared at her with unfocused eyes. Her Sith tunic had been ripped in places, it was almost in tatters and the blue skin, lighter than it had been when she was a Sith, was bruised in some places, burnt and cut in others. The manacles had been fastened with little care to her now naked feet and Juhani winced at the raw skin above and below their tight grip.

"They hurt me," Yuthura said simply, her voice almost childlike. "I was a betrayer, I betrayed the Sith. So, I was punished."

Juhani felt sick, she remembered the Sith Master from the academy, how strong Yuthura had been, how confident. Even though Juhani had known that Yuthura had been a dark Jedi, she couldn't help but understand where the anger that had made her fall to the dark had come from. She's begged Revan to try and help her, she didn't know why. Maybe it had been the simple fact that Yuthura reminded her of herself in the grove, before Revan had saved her from the dark. Later, when she had met her with Revan on Dantooine, Yuthura had been... different, much of the anger she had exhibited, gone. The confidence, the strength and will remained but Juhani had been glad to see that she was... happier. Now, beaten and with her mind in tatters, Yuthura needed her help.

"Hang on," Juhani whispered kneeling close to her and stroking her Lekku. "I'll get the cuffs off you if you stay still." She looked down and stared at the cuffs, they were locked by a tiny electronic bolt and she couldn't use the sabre to cut them free, they were too tightly strapped around Yuthura's legs and arms. She needed Mission.

A sudden knock at the door made her head snap around. Yuthura whimpered and closed her eyes. "No.... No more, I want to end it."

"Shh," Juhani murmured and slowly picked up her short lightsabre from the floor. "I'm going to free you, of that I promise."

Another knock at the door made Juhani smile, Sith rarely would be so polite. She walked over to the locked door and with a click, slid it open. Two Twi'lek's stared back at her and she smiled.

"Mission, I need your expertise." She waved them in and turned to Yuthura. "The cuffs are electronic, I need you to pick them."

"Not a problem Ju," Mission glanced at Yuthura and she turned to Juhani. "This is Lena, she was my brothers girlfriend. She got captured while she was staying at the enclave on Dantooine."

As Mission bent to the task of picking the cuffs that bound Yuthura's feet. Juhani slowly reached up to the neural collar around Yuthura's neck and gently rubbed the disorientated Jedi's cheek.

"You will be fine, I promise. We'll get these cuffs off you and then we need you to walk out of here with us, can you do that?"

"Walk? Out of here?" Yuthura stared at her. "You lie, like all my other visions! I believe them, and yet when I wake, all I feel is more suffering, more punishment!" She began to cry and Juhani stroked her Lekku again.

"Yuthura, I'm real. Can you feel my hand?" Yuthura nodded, jerky and uncoordinated. "Then I'm real, and I want to help you get out of here, please believe me."

"Okay cuffs are done," Mission announced and getting up examined the neural disrupter collar around Yuthura's neck." Just the collar left and then we'll be able to get her out of here."

"I tried to stop them, but I couldn't," For the first time since she'd talked to her, Juhani heard the vestiges of the Yuthura she'd met, slip back into her voice. "They used the force to punish me for what I did. Again, and again and again," Her voice rose in pitch until Juhani began to stroke her Lekku once more. "They assaulted my mind until I felt it shatter under the strain."

Mission looked up from the collar and Juhani saw the tears in her eyes. "Jeez, just when I think the Sith can't get any worse, they prove me wrong."

"I should never have tried to rejoin the Jedi," Yuthura muttered dreamily. "I didn't deserve to be a Sith, and certainly not a Jedi. So, here I am... neither one thing nor the other. I wonder what the force makes of me?"

"I know what I think of you," Juhani whispered as Mission fiddled with the lock on the collar. "You tried to save Belaya, a close friend of mine." Yuthura frowned and Juhani sighed. "I don't know if you remember, but I owe you so much for trying to save her. To me, you are a Jedi, and a good person."

"Belaya.... I tried to save her?" Yuthura's voice was distant as the fractured mind of the Jedi tried to pull itself together. "On... on Dantooine? She was running and I... I tried to protect her."

"Yes." Juhani said gently, and watched as Yuthura's eyes tired to focus on her face. "You did, and the Sith captured you. You sacrificed your freedom to try and save her."

"I... I remember," Yuthura managed and stared at Juhani. "So beautiful, so strong. I... I remember the voices, the voices that told me you would come."

"Voices?" Juhani glanced at Mission and Lena. "What did they say?"

"That you would take the pain away," Yuthura's voice was dreamy once more. "So I tried to keep my mind intact by locking as much as I could away with what little force power I had left. I... I wish I could remember why or how."

"Juhani," Mission snapped the collar off and threw it into the corner of the room. "Collar's off, so let's go. Lena knows where the rest of the prisoners are."

"How many?" Juhani asked, pulling Yuthura's arm around her shoulder and hauling her to her feet.

"Five, all women." Mission watched Juhani's face pale. "I know, I know. Out of fifteen, all we can save are five, but at least we can rescue those!"

"Right," Juhani looked at Lena who smiled tiredly. "Can you lead the way?"

"Sure, what about the guards though?" Lena glanced at the Jedi around Juhani's neck. "You just can't walk out of here with the remaining slaves and Rebuik's prize exhibit!"

Mission smiled and raised a comm. "Revan, we need a pickup. Quatra, we need the diversion now."

"This is Revan, We're on approach. Quatra, start a fight with someone. The Hawk will drop me off outside the entrance to the bar and then proceed around the back for pickup. Denara's guards will protect you while you get the slaves on board. Now, let's really get their attention."

"Come on!" Mission hissed and Juhani helped Yuthura stagger out of the prison they'd kept her locked in.

Master Quatra clutched her drink tightly. "_How the force am I supposed to start a fight?_" She wondered_. "Besides, no matter how rough it gets in here, they'll hear the damn Hawk's engines. Subtlety isn't its strong point_."

Glancing around, she saw three drunken troopers having an argument about the drinks on the bar. Watching them, she noticed that the bottle of booze, an expensive brand of Coruscant brandy, was very close to one of the troopers hand. With a grin a sudden way of causing an argument popped into her head. She shuffled closer and cocked her head.

"I'm telling you, I bought that brandy Shareiu, so I get to drink it. You want some, you pay me!" One of the troopers yelled, prodding the other. "That damn bottle cost me one weeks pay!"

"Fine, keep your stupid bottle!" Shareiu muttered. Quatra glanced around and with a wave of her hand the bottle slid behind the troopers' backs to land next to Shareiu's glass.

"Right," The trooper who had paid for the bottle turned around and paused to stare at the bottle. Quatra could feel the anger pouring off the man. He turned back to the other two.

"Okay, who moved the bottle!" He snapped. "I told you, that's my damn bottle of booze. The next one who touches it gets punched!"

"We haven't touched it!" Shareiu growled. "Drink the damn thing will you, you need to get some alcohol into your system so you'll relax!"

Quatra quickly reached out with the force and this time, poured a measure of the brandy into Shareiu's glass. The trooper turned to grasp the bottle and stared once more at the suddenly open bottle. He looked at the glass full of his booze and Quatra felt his anger slip into rage.

"Right!" He roared and turned to Shereiu. "I warned you!"

With that, the trooper punched his friend hard in the mouth. Shereiu swung in return, only to miss and hit one of the dark Jedi drinking next to them. With a growl, the Jedi waved his hand and the troopers flew back to land on another group's table, blown back by a force push. The troopers got up, drunken rage consuming them and were joined by the group who they had crashed into. This group jumped the dark Jedi all at once, causing other dark Jedi to join in. At that point, what was once an organised bar, descended into drunken chaos.

In the middle of the fighting, Rebuik stood, looking on in horror as her bar and slavery lounge was smashed to pieces. Grabbing her own comm unit she flicked it on.

"This is Rebuik," She screamed into it. "All guards are to report to the front bar and lounge, I've got chaos on my hands here!"

Hidden around the corner, Juhani, Mission, Yuthura, Lena and the rescued slaves, all watched as the six guards, all carrying stun sticks and assassin pistols, ran away form the door and headed for the bar.

"Okay, Mission, get busy on that lock." Juhani whispered, and helped the trembling Jedi wrapped around her, to stagger towards the door. Mission, yanking her electronic lockpicks from her bra, began to pick the lock.

"Hurry, Mission," Juhani whispered. "I can hear the Hawk!"

"I'm really going to be free again?" Yuthura muttered in a daze and Juhani smiled faintly.

"I hope so. If not, we're all going to end up as slaves, something I do not relish the thought of at all."

"Done!" Mission whispered triumphantly as the rear door to the slave bar snicked open. She turned to Juhani with a frown. "The rear's more exposed than we thought it would be. Let's stay here until the Hawk touches down."

"Good idea." Juhani agreed and shook her head at the sounds of violence coming from the bar. "From the sound of combat, I doubt any guards will be coming back soon."

Revan hung onto a strut support from the lowered hatch of the Hawk as it hurtled across the surface of the Sith base. Selyne was a surprisingly good pilot, and she clung the Hawk's body ten metres above the main access way.

"Get ready to drop me off here," Revan yelled into his comm and the Hawk suddenly slammed to a halt. "Once, I'm off pick up Juhani, Mission and the others. Then come back and pick up Quatra and myself."

Drawing on the force, Revan jumped the last ten metres to the concrete and landed with an in-drawn breath. Glancing around, he dashed towards the bar and the sounds of combat. He flung the door open to see Quatra involved in the battle, fighting for her life. She'd been trapped between three dark Jedi and four troopers who were attacking each other. Blaster fire and force powers shot across the space and Revan watched as Quatra danced between the two groups, not involved but in danger from both sides.

"Attention!" He yelled and almost all the fighting groups stopped to stare at him. Some, especially the dark Jedi, did a double take and he smiled. "I'm Jedi Revan, maybe you've heard of me?"

"The Jedi who killed Master Malak," One of the dark Jedi snarled. "There is a reward of the rarest gems for whoever kills him!"

Quatra slowly backed around the groups of Sith, their attention pulled away from fighting and her. She slid along the wall and then ran to join Revan.

"What the..." Rebuik, her own pistols drawn, snarled in anger. "You, you're no Sith!"

Quatra smiled and with a glance at Revan, ignited her lightsabre. "Jedi Master Quatra, pleased to meet you."

"Come on," A trooper yelled and hefted his gun. "If we all charge at once, they'll go down easy!"

As a large portion ran towards the two Jedi, Revan raised his hand and calling on the force, blew the crowd backwards as a mass wave of energy slammed into them.

"How long do we have to keep this up?" Quatra whispered to him, deflecting a few randomly fired blaster bolts that came close to hitting them.

"Until I get the all clear from Mission and Juhani. We have to buy enough time for them to get everyone on board."

"Oh great," Quatra muttered, using her own force ability to propel a rushing group of troopers backward into a toppled table. "Well, I hope they hurry."

"All part of being a Jedi," Revan said, concentrating on dodging a thrown lightsabre and casting another force wave in return. "We serve the innocent."

A sudden chime from his comm made Quatra glance down. "Rev, Mission. We're on board and flying to the front of the bar. Hurry, sensors are picking up nine Sith fighters on an intercept course from their patrol route."

"Go," Revan yelled at Quatra as a Dark Jedi managed to get into duel range. Their sabres' clashed and spat sparks. Revan, better than the Jedi would ever be, concentrated and a bottle from the bar flung itself across the room to crash into the back of the Jedi's skull. "I'll hold them off for as long as I can."

"Good luck, may the force be with you!" Quatra yelled and with a final blast of force wave, slipped out of the door. Revan could hear the roar of the Hawk's main engine batter the front windows of the bar. Another group of troopers ran at him and he concentrated to blow them back yet again.

"Rev, Quatra's on board!" Mission's voice yelled from the comm. "Come on!"

Backing slowly away, Revan suddenly turned and ran for the double doors that led out of the bar. As he pelted through them, he could feel the sizzling heat of blaster bolts tear past him and also a few lightsabres bury themselves in the walls and the door as it slammed shut. He came to a sudden stop at the sight of the Hawk floating five or so metres above the surface of the road and Mission, Juhani and Quatra leaning out of the hatch to fire blasters at the squad of Sith troopers below.

A sudden thud of the bar door swinging open had Revan running for the Hawk as a cry behind him, followed by the repeat sound of blaster fire, made the troopers in front turn around. Even as they lifted their guns to catch the Jedi in a deadly cross fire, Revan concentrated and jumped as hard as possible, the force flowing through his muscle fibre to give him added height. He landed with a huff as the air was forced from his lungs, sprawled on the metal surface of the Hawk's landing hatch.

"He's on board!" Mission yelled into the comm that she clutched tightly, firing her blaster pistols with the other. "Go, go, go!"

Selyne punched the throttle and the Hawk spun on it's axis and with a roar of engine power, blew into the sky.

Revan coughed and slumped against the wall next to the hatch as Mission hit the button to close it. Glancing down he noticed that his robes now had two or three interesting blaster burns and he sighed. This had been too close for comfort.

"Canderous is at the rendezvous point with Denara and T3," Mission told him, also slumping to settle on the floor. "Selyne thinks that we'll be able to pick him up just as the fighters reach us."

"Good. HK's on the turret I hope?" Revan asked, gulping in the Hawk's air-conditioned atmosphere. "I don't think I'll be able to hold them off, the way I'm feeling at the moment."

"Yeah, he kept telling Selyne how much he was looking forward to blasting some fly boy meatbags." Mission grinned. "Y'know, he's kinda beginning to grow on me."

"Now that's crazy talk." Revan told her, a faint smile appearing on his lips. He swallowed slightly as the adrenaline trickled away to leave a metallic taste in his mouth. "How many prisoners did we rescue?"

"Five, plus Lena and Yuthura." Mission watched Revan's face darken, and she shrugged. "At least we got five out of there, no one deserves a life like that."

"What was Lena doing there?" Revan asked her and Mission blushed.

"She stayed there after warning me about my bro." She managed, her fingers intertwining with each other. "So, it's kinda my fault they captured her. She's in the crew quarters trying on some clothing."

"Well, I don't see how it's your fault Mish," Revan grunted a little as he stood up, his muscles ached slightly from force jumping such a high distance. "But regardless, she's safe now, as is Yuthura." He looked at her miserable face and sighed. "If you must know, I feel responsible for Yuthura being captured. I should never have asked her to rejoin the Jedi."

"What? Don't be daft," Mission snapped. "She was glad to be back amongst them, Juhani told me! Besides, it wasn't your or her fault she was captured. If it's anyone's it's the Sith's."

"Maybe, but if that's the case then you shouldn't feel responsible for Lena. At least she's safe." Revan said, smiling at her. He glanced up as the Hawk banked sharply. "When Canderous is back aboard we'll head for Coruscant and drop off these prisoners to the Republic. I'm going to check on Yuthura."

"Okay Rev, but stay frosty. If the Sith swamp us we may just need some Jedi luck to escape. I for one have no interest in being turned into a slave girl!"

Mission got up and Revan watched as she wandered off to the crew quarters to check on Lena and Revan walked towards the Medi bay. Inside, Yuthura lay on the biobed, staring in dazed amusement as Juhani passed a bioprobe over her body. As Revan came in, Yuthura glanced over and her eyes widened.

"You!" She yelled, sitting up suddenly. "I know you! The one who saved me form the Sith!"

Revan smiled at her and gently placed a hand onto her shoulder, pushing her softly back down onto the biobed. "That's right. We came to rescue you. You're safe now."

"I know," Yuthura whispered smiling. "The furry one said so, she saved me!"

"Furry one?" Revan asked, he turned to see Juhani shaking her head. "Umm Juhani, can I have a word?"

"Of course." Juhani took hold of Yuthura's hand and smiled at her. "Stay here for a second, I am going to be outside in the corridor for just a moment."

"Don't go far, I don't want the shadows coming back. I don't want anymore pain." Yuthura whispered.

Revan escorted Juhani outside the medibay and turned to her with dismay. "What's wrong with her?"

"Aside from physical abuse, exhaustion, rape and mental torture?" Juhani sighed and turned to look at the door to the bay. "She's been assaulted so many times by the force that her mind has snapped. I suppose the only thing that's going for her now is that she can't remember any specific details of what happened to her."

"But she's Yuthura Ban! She was so strong willed, powerful when I met her." Revan shook his head in tired dismay. "Can we do anything for her?"

"Maybe," Juhani said slowly, her own face drawn with exhaustion. "But it's beyond my skill to heal. We'll need some of the Jedi who've trained for this kind of mental damage on Dantooine or Coruscant. Until then, I suggest we keep her comfortable and deal with the physical symptoms."

A sudden crash made them turn to see Yuthura staring at them with wild eyes, her hand wrapped around the doorframe for support and her Lekku writhed in an agitated dance.

"You!" She muttered, pointing at Juhani. "I know you, you were there at the enclave with him!" She pointed at Revan and a crooked smile appeared on her lips. Revan glanced at Juhani and the two exchanged looks. Juhani walked back and took hold of Yuthura's hand. Revan had never seen the tender side of her before. He was impressed.

"Come on, you need some rest." Juhani told her softly. "I'll go and get you some food once I've given you a vitamin booster and some kolto treatment."

Revan watched her and Yuthura wander back into the medibay and he pursed his lips. Maybe Yuthura was not as shattered as they thought. He hoped so.

A sudden clanging noise came from the cargo-loading bay and he walked across to see Canderous, Denara and T3 unstrapping themselves from his swoop bike.

"Heh, Revan you should have been there," Canderous grunted with a grin. "Those Sith were such a pushover!"

"Speak for yourself!" Denara grumbled and as she moved past him, Revan noticed a laser burn on her arm. "That was one intense battle, where's the damn medibay on this crate?"

"Down there, but you'll have to help yourself." Revan watched Canderous unstrap T3 and stood to one side as the little bot trundled happily down the corridor. "We've got a very sick Jedi Twi'lek in there."

"Glad to see our efforts weren't wasted then," Canderous muttered and Denara shook her head at his obvious elation. "Heh, those boy's will always remember Canderous Ordo and Captain Denara. We took their rag tag guards apart in minutes."

"Well, if you decide to write a song or story chronicling our attack?" Denara leaned against the wall and allowed the set of pistols she carried to drop. "Then just keep me out of it will you? All I did was my duty."

A sudden shaking of the Hawk made both Revan, Denara and Canderous look up. Another shake had Revan running towards the cockpit, where he found Selyne forcing the Hawk into violent twist and turns. A sudden flash of light as a laser bolt splashed against the shields blinded Revan for a few seconds.

"The damn Sith fighters have caught up with us!" She growled and Revan glanced at the scanner. Seven red dots glowed on its screen and he pursed his lips.

"How long until we can jump into hyper?" He asked, and Selyne wiped a hand across her brow.

"Not long. I have to say," She said, swinging the Hawk around to blast past three Sith fighters. "That Assassin robot is a damn good aim!"

"Smugness: Thank you. I am well aware of my superior construction and combat skills. I am pleased, however, that you... a plain and simple meatbag has noticed." HK's voice crackled through the Hawk's intercom. "I am engaging the fighters as you requested, defensive fire only."

"Yeah right," Selyne grunted glancing at the navi-computer's guidance system. "So how come we had twelve following us at the start of this and with in two minutes we're down to seven?"

"Disagreement: I cannot be held responsible if the pilot meatbags choose to fly into my fire."

"Well, just keep them off our backs until we clear the solar system and the navi-com says we can jump." Revan glanced at the navigation system and noticed that despite all of Selyne's banking manoeuvres to keep the fighters busy, she'd kept the Hawk on the main hyper path it was projecting. "I'm not hanging around here so you can cap a few more fighters until a Sith interdictor arrives!"

"Confirmation: as you request."

The Hawk span in a tight circle, taking the three fighters following it by total surprise as the ship span past them in a blur of deadly turret fire. Two of the fighters disintegrated as the bolts hit them and the third narrowly avoided the stream of deadly firepower. A sudden chime in the cockpit as the navi-com signalled it had finished processing their hyper vector out, was all Selyne needed to hear. The Hawk barrled in a vertical climb and span on a reciprocal of it's access. With a few more twists, the ship hurtled onto the rail that the computer had hammered in space.

"Yes!" Selyne yelled suddenly and the Hawk shuddered as the starscape blurred into the blue haze of hyperspace. They were safe "And we're out of there!"

"Objection: I had not finished my defensive fire." HK sounded peeved and Revan sighed. Despite his usefulness and determination to keep him alive, Revan sometimes wondered why he kept the droid around. Especially, now that he was a Jedi.

"Enough HK, return to the crew annex and power down for a couple of hours, you've earned it." Revan squeezed Selyne's arm. "You too Selyne, let the auto-pilot deal with flying for a while and get yourself some Caffa."

Walking back to the crew lounge with her, Revan sat into a chair and sighed contentedly. A successful mission and all his friends had lived; he couldn't argue with a result like that. Juhani walked regally into the annex and also slid gracefully into a chair. The Cathar looked tired and Revan shook his head. Since learning of Belaya's death the fire for life that he'd always seen in her yellow eyes had faded a little. Now, with Yuthura a crazed wreak despite her best efforts to save her, Juhani looked even more worn.  
"Well, the kolto kits are taking care of the physical wounds she got while enslaved. As for the mental damage I stand by my original idea, we must get her to Jedi healers " The Cathar ran a hand through her mane and glanced at Revan. "I also gave her an antidote kit to remove any remains of the poison those dark Jedi were pumping into her."

"What?" Revan looked up and frowned, that was news to him. "What dark Jedi? What poison?"

Juhani sighed and she glanced up as Mission bounced into the room. "I am sorry, I forgot you didn't know." She told him everything that had happened while in the slave bar and Revan shook his head.

"Another reference to this damn brotherhood." He looked up as Quatra, who had also joined them, sat down and shook her head in worry. "This is getting serious, but why try to kill Yuthura?"

"Umm, Rev?" Mission blushed and reaching into her pocket yanked a datacube from her tunic. "I kinda searched the dead Jedi's pockets while Juhani helped Yuthura up from the rack. The female had this."

With a glance at his fellow Jedi, Revan snapped the datacube into the Hawk's interface port and the holo display lit up with a cloaked figure. All of them watched and listened to the message encoded on it and when it finished the entire room was quiet. Even Canderous stood silently, wiping his assault blades clean with a thoughtful expression. With a shake of his head, Revan glanced at the young Twi'lek opposite him.

"Mission, it's your turn in the pilots seat okay? When you get up there I want to know which is closer, Dantooine or Coruscant." Revan looked back at the holo figure and Mission swallowed and nodded. "When you know, I want you to plot a course for the one that's the nearest."

"Sure, Rev." Mission murmured and shivered at Quatra's pale expression. "Guys, how serious a threat is this message to us?"

"Serious," Revan said quietly and looked at the Medibay. Juhani watched his face darken slightly in thought and, she could tell... guilt. "If I'm right, then this Brotherhood could pose almost as big a threat as the Star Forge and Malak. We must warn the Jedi council!"

Continued in Revenant part 4: When reflection stares back.


	16. Revenant:chapter4: When reflection stare

Revenant part 4: When reflection stares back.

A lone figure stands in front of a small pile of rocks set on the top of a small hillock. The air is fresh and warm, carrying the scents of nature and running water. The view is magnificent; cascading down from the hill is a bright green carpet of grass and in the distance, the warm glowing orb of the evening sun hangs in the bright blue sky. It is peaceful, serene and important to one person. She is here, now.

Her hands, covered in soft brown fur, are dirty and bruised from where she has dug the rocks from the soil. Slowly, she reaches into her deep red tunic, pulling from the recesses a small candle that glistens in the deep red of the setting sun. With care, she slides the final rock into place. The candle is placed gently on top and lit. Her eyes close and the faint breeze wafts gently pulling at her mane of dark hair. With a sigh, she remembers.

"Juhani, come on in!" Belaya calls to her from the warm lake and Juhani smiles slightly. "The waters really warm, it's lovely!"

"I prefer not to today, I am happy to sit and watch you enjoy yourself, after all we have both earned this." Juhani gazes at Belaya with a strange feeling of both sadness and joy. Funny, she never considered she would ever have a problem such as this to deal with. "Take your time, Belaya. I shall still be here when you come back."

Belaya snorts and with a splash of water, runs back onto the beach to land next to her friend in a flurry of wet skin. Juhani forces the feeling of desire away and gazes out to sea, trying to resist temptation.

"It kinda spoils the point of me dragging you down here, especially after all the time it took me to force you into that bikini." She grins and reaches to touch one of the straps of the black Bikini wrapped around Juhani's furry body. For just a second, her fingers stay for too long and then they are gone. "You're such a Rancor when it comes to enjoying yourself. Relax that warrior steel of yours and have some fun with me."

"I have never been able to relax very well," Juhani mutters, even as Belaya's fingers stray once more to caress the fur on her shoulder. She shudders. "_Please stop it, I have to resist this. It is un-Jedi like_." "I do not see the point of trying to relax. I am a warrior, a Cathar and a Jedi. We do not relax, we remain ever vigilant against the darkness."

"Oh, poodoo Juhani," Belaya grins and her other hand joins the first, stroking fur and massaging muscle until she draws a groan from her Cathar friend. Even warriors, especially Jedi, need to relax, and besides... I have something to ask you."

"Ask me?" Juhani whispers, the pleasure of Belaya's massage running through her entire body, swamping her desire to clamp down on her emotions. Always so strong they've been and now they burn. "What is it you want from me?"

"You, and one night." She murmurs and Juhani turns to her in shock. "I want us to spend the night together, as lovers."

"But, but, we are Jedi. Such physical attraction is... is forbidden!" Her mind reels at the image of them together, wrapped in each other's arms and she shivers at it. "If Master Quatra were to find out. She would most likely never speak to me again!"

"Just one night, please." Belaya whispers and her soft voice is like honey to Juhani's ears. "Hold me, make love to me and let's watch the stars together. I love you and I want to be with you. Forever."

Her eyes open and she's back in front of the Cairn. She reaches up softly and wipes the moisture from the wet fur under her eyes. Gently, ever so gently, she leans down and kisses the very top rock before stepping back.  
"It was not meant to be, my love." She whispers and bows her head. "I wish I could have been there, at your side, as it could have been. But all that passed when I fell to the darkside, all that passed between us made our love become just friendship. I wish I had been there as a friend instead. Maybe we could have escaped, my warrior skills, your Force powers. But speculation of what may have been is useless."

She steps back and her eyes moisten again as she completes the ritual.

"May you find peace, my friend. May you find light. For though you are not Cathar, your soul burns with such a soul. As a Jedi and as a warrior, you have earned the peace now given. Rest well."

With a final bow at the cairn, she walks away towards the glimmering lights of the Jedi enclave.

Tangelos Tabana gas mines: Republic flagship: 'Endar's Spirit'.

"Bloody council!" Jolee muttered, striding backwards and forwards in Carth's quarters. "One minute its, go here. The next its come back, without a thought for the people they're ordering to run around."

"Well, it isn't all that bad surely, after all your moaning about wanting a little peace and quiet?" Carth murmured, staring at a report on repairs to his ship's hull. "I would have thought you'd welcome the request for us to return to Dantooine... that's why I told you that they wanted you and her to go back."

"It's not me I'm worried about!" Jolee growled in annoyance and Carth looked up at that. The old Master's face was drawn. "I'm worried for Bastila, you know as well as I do that she needs rest! Gallivanting across the galaxy is not what she needs right now!"

Carth had to agree. The battle with the Sith fleet had been an interesting and now a slowly tedious one. They had arrived, after almost a week of hyperspace travel, at the Tabana gas mines with time to spare, thanks to the excellent Republic Intel. Carth had set about arranging his fleet into a well-set pincer for the Sith fleet.

The only problem had been that Intel had greatly underestimated the numbers of ships that the Sith were willing to commit to this enterprise. Carth himself had wondered at first about the validity of such numbers that had been given to him.

With the Star Forge now a smear of hydrogen plasma, the Sith had lost not only their main source of new ships, but also the means to power them. He had been busy himself when Revan had left with his Jedi friends to find Bastila and Malak. With a complement of Jedi, Carth had managed to force his way into the lower section of the Star Forge and had discovered that the forge also distilled the energy it was collecting into high-energy plasma gas. This had been how the Sith could afford to fuel such gigantic numbers of ships with such few gas mines that the Republic could locate.

Now, with the forge destroyed they must be desperately short of fuel, and the commitment of the number of ships to this battle had shown that.

Carth's battle contingent of thirty gun ships and four battle cruisers plus, of course the Spirit herself, had found themselves almost outnumbered by a factor of two to one for the ships and nearly six to one for the fighters and bombers.

He knew now, as it had been at the battle of the Forge, that it had been Bastila who had saved them. She had taken one look at the huge difference in forces and had walked quietly with Jolee to the mediation suite.

"You never did tell me what you two were up to."

"Hmph, well for starters I told her not to," Jolee sighed. "That was a big mistake."

Two hours before the battle for the gas mines: Spirits main corridor.

"Kid, you can't be serious!" Jolee looked at her with worry. "Damn it, you may be skilled in battle meditation, but have you seen the numbers of capital ships out there? What happens when the fighters and bombers swarm us?"

"I have dealt with such numbers before." Bastila looked at him with no sign of concern. "I can do it again."

"Kid, there are dark Jedi on those ships, they know who you are and what you can do. If they concentrate, how hard will it become?" Jolee felt her shiver and he sighed. "I don't want to see you hurt in some foolish attempt to sway the battle."

" I have to try." Bastila shrugged. "I doubt very much that the Dark Jedi on those ships can assault me here. Besides, as I have already told you, I have to do this."

"Why?" Jolee gripped her robe. "I may be an old coot dammit but I ain't blind! Stop trying to be a martyr."

"That is not what I mean to do." Bastila looked at him with annoyance. "If I do not do something, we will have to retreat and give up the gas mines to the Sith. All those innocent people, I have to help the Jolee, I know I can."

"Kid, we can still run." Jolee watched her face become distant and he sighed. "Bastila, lets run away. There's no shame in that, even for Jedi. Besides, old men like me come to realise that running away is perfectly alright, probably all because of our habit."

"Habit?" Bastila's voice was faint and distracted, her eyes unfocused. "What habit?"

"Living." Jolee let go of her robes. "It's quite addictive and I don't want to give it up."

"We could have run about five minutes ago..." Bastila's eyes cleared and she looked at Jolee with apprehension. "But, the three interdictors that are about to appear behind us, defeat that idea."

Jolee looked at her face, the terrible determination. "Kid, if they do try and block you, how far would this push you?"

"I... I have no idea." Jolee watched as her lightsabre flipped into her palm and began to spin. "But have you got any better ideas?"

"Well, no." Jolee grunted, the whippersnapper had a point. "Okay, but I'm coming in with you. If you start to struggle, I'm pulling you out!"

"If you do that, we're all dead or captured." Bastila gazed at him and sighed. "I have to help. So that we can survive and the innocent people on the gas mines will as well."

"Ah hell," Jolee growled and scuffed the floor with his boot. "If Revan finds out, there'll be hell to pay!"

"He won't find out, because we won't tell him. Come, I must prepare."

Grumbling, Jolee followed her into the meditation chambers that had been built for them. Bastila walked softly to the centre of the room, her lightsabre snapping to her hilt with a click as she reached the middle.

"Jolee, I need total silence." She glanced at him and smiled apologetically. "I think I may need every ounce of concentration for this..."

"Okay," Jolee flung himself into the corner of the room and stared at her. "I still say this is too risky, and you're going to get my wrinkly ass kicked by your Jedi boyfriend."

"_Revan..._" Bastila's mind whispered to her, his face grinning in her mind. She sighed and concentrated on getting comfortable._ "No, I cannot think of you at this time, my love, I have to concentrate..._"

Bastila slipped into her meditative kneeling position, her mind channelling the Force with expert ability. She could feel the ships around her, and she dove deeper, weaving past the metal, pipes, ducts, equipment, to come face to face with all the living people on board them. Slowly, she began to weave the Force threads of her battle meditation among them, connecting them to each other, and to her. It was a laborious task, but eventually she completed it.

Thousands of soldiers, troops, crew and commanding officers whispered to her. She could feel the ebb and flow of the Republic armada, feel it's emotional and moral state. They were afraid, the sheer numbers of the Sith armada, frightening. She gripped the mass of threads that formed the fleet in her mind, and sent a vast amount of positive Force along them. She could feel the moral of the Republic shift and the crews buckle down to attack the Sith, felt the pilots focus and begin to outmanoeuvre the Sith fighters.

There had to be a balance in battle meditation, Bastila needed a place to dump the negative emotions, fear, panic, and disorientation that she was drawing away from her troops and crews. As it had always been, the perfect target was the enemy.

She stretched out, pulling the Force threads of battle meditation with her mind. Her goal was the Sith fleet, and the masses of capital ships and fighters hurtling towards them. Slowly she began to focus on the Sith fleet. As she touched the first of the vast interdictors, Bastila found that the ship's crew and officers were hard to bind to. She focused on the crews of the turbolaser batteries and tried to touch and bind her battle meditation to their minds. A sudden pressure on the threads she was weaving made her groan in startled shock.

Suddenly, the few threads she had managed to weave into the Sith crews were brutally snapped and she fell back with a scream.

"Ah hell! Hang on kid!" Jolee slid to his feet and ran across to the disorientated Jedi. Bastila had fallen back onto the carpet and her eyes were wild. "Bastila? What happened?"

"I... I don't know." She shivered. "I... my battle meditation was broken by something."

"You see? I'll bet the Sith have those damn Jedi pumping something against you. They knew you'd be here with us on the Spirit, thanks to our little council spy." Jolee watched as Bastila slipped back into her meditative pose and he shook his head. "Bastila, no! I won't have my Padawan do this again."

"I have to get past it somehow. The attack startled me, that's all. I can defeat it if I focus harder." She opened her eyes and smiled apologetically at him. "You were right, Jolee, they knew I would be here. Those Sith are placed on each capital ship to stop me."

A sudden shake rattled around the room and the two Jedi heard the muted calls of alarms.

"Kid, how long will you be able to keep this up?" Jolee watched as Bastila breathed deeply and stared at him.

"For as long as it takes, Jolee." Ignoring his grumbles, Bastila closed her eyes and let the Force take her once more. "I must concentrate!"

She felt the quiet serene of the Force beat through her She began to weave her battle meditation once more, spinning the threads of Force faster and faster, too well aware of the limited time she had available. Even as her threads reached out to one of the Republic capital ships, she felt a sudden agonising loss. She gasped in pain, as the thousands of crew on board one of the Republic ships, cried briefly out, as it fell to the Sith bombers. She could feel their terror as the ship, 'The Intolerant', spiralled out of control, it's fusion plasma cores igniting in a massive firebomb. She screamed, feeling the terror of all the people linked to her through her battle meditation, feeling the last few gurgling cries of the dying crew of the Intolerant.

"_I have to concentrate! Remember, emotion, yet peace_..." She thought, focusing on the humming strands of the Force. They crackled with the sudden demoralised Republic fleet. "_Focus, draw the negative, enhance the positive. Use the lightside to reinforce their own_."

Bastila felt the negative emotions of the Republic fleet swell around her, trapped by her ability with battle meditation. Feeling out to the Sith fighters and bombers, swarming around the Republic vessels like angry wasps, Bastila focused the vast negative mental energy and sent it screaming into the threads of Force, linking her to the enemy.

She watched as the Sith pilots felt a sudden crushing feel of defeat overwhelm them. Suddenly, the battle began to shift, as the Sith fighters and bombers began to fall, outmanoeuvred and outfought by the focused and determined Republic fighter screen.

With a sigh, Bastila focused her minds gaze on the Sith capital ships, still holding their own against the Republic. She could feel it now, now that the Sith Masters had shown their hand. The Darkside hung over each ship like a cloud, a legacy from the Star Forge.

Somehow, and she had no clue as to how, the Sith Masters had drawn on that source, to attack her during battle meditation. How, she had no idea, except that these Sith Masters could also be capable of battle meditation, to a far less degree. Obviously they had planned this for some time, and now it was a battle of wills.

Carth watched his fleet's fighters slam around his flagship, chasing Sith fighters in a mad dog corkscrew of a battle. So far, the Republic fighters were winning, scoring at least three kills to every Sith's, He prayed to the Force that it would be enough.

The loss of the intolerant, along with Admiral Hackter, had been a crushing blow on the right flank, the defence was slowly beginning to fail over there. He watched as another of his gun-ships took a hit to the side, watched as vapour and moisture spurted from the gash, watched as people died.

"Helm, take us to the Intolerant's position. I want the Spirit as command ship on the right flank!" Carth felt the astonishment around him. "Then, tell the squad leaders to fall in, tightly. If Bastila's battle mediation can provide us the edge, then it's up to us."

"Sir?"

"We're losing too many ships, even with Bastila giving us the edge. They have the advantage in numbers, and can soak up the loss of vessels, we can't. So, I don't intend to play that game." Carth glanced at his captain, whose face was drawn in a tight line. "When they've pulled in as tightly as possible, set a course for the flag ship of the Sith fleet. I want our 'fist' to hit it as hard as possible."

"Sir, will Bastila be able to hold her concentration under fire? We need whatever aid she can provide."

"I hope so, she's far stronger than she looks."

"Course laid in Sir." The helmswoman announced. "I have laid in an intercept for the 'Hammer of Vengeance'.

"Engage, lets spit in the Sith's face and see how they like it."

Bastila felt a shudder in the physical world, but her mind was far too focused on the Sith fleet to pay much attention. She could see now what faced her. If she tried to bind the crew of any of the Sith capital ships, the Sith Masters, while far too weak in ability to combat her skill, could use their combined powers to assault the threads of Force that bound her to the crews. Now she focused on the main capital ship, the Vengeance. With her skill, she could see the darkness was at it's most powerful here. Whoever was co-ordinating the attack against her, he or she was on this ship. She focused all her power, forging her battle meditation into a single point and threw herself at the oppressive gloom surrounding, and shielding, the Vengeance from her skills.

"Sir, the 'Shield of Coruscant' has taken major damage!" One of Carth's crew span around and gave him the worrying news. "Twenty or more of her crew are down, engineering reports that the fusion reactors are spiking due to plasma damage!"

"Understood," Carth muttered, ignoring the looks of horror around him. "_Come on Bastila, give me a hole, the skill to see it... anything!"_

"Admiral, this is madness!" Serrvul shook his head. "We're taking heavy losses even with her battle meditation."

"We have to give her time," Carth glanced at the tactical display and winced at the crimson red splashes across his fleets display panels. "They knew we were coming, they know about Bastila and her skills... We have to hold on until she can open the way, then we can give em the sucker punch!"

Bastila felt the tendrils of the darkside whisper to her, so seductive, so familiar... now, so very, very deadly. She focused on her own inner soul, her own lightside and pushed her way into the cloud. She could feel it, cloying and oppressive as it drifted around her, smothered her. Focusing, she began to weave the threads of the Force between herself and the crew, so hard now that they were cloaked from her, as if in fog.

As the first few threads connected, she gasped at how determined the crew of this ship was. In fact, they carried so much gloating confidence that it bordered on arrogance. She had to finish her battle meditation, and fast. Bastila began to weave once more, tipping the scales in the Republic's favour once again.

A sudden brutal shove in the Force made her cry out, and she felt the Sith Master suddenly fighting against her, using the combined focus of all the fellow Sith Masters to fight her. She felt them tear at her, rip at the threads that surrounded her. A few snapped, the backlash slamming into her with a surge of pain. Staggering, she felt them attack her once more, the claws of a darker battle meditation sinking into her. She struggled against it feeling the darkside sink into her meditation and begin to tear at the centre. With a deep breath, she began to concentrate.

"_Focus, centre and strengthen_." She thought intently. "_Weave and bind, protect and focus. Then attack, tip the scales_."

She concentrated, hard, and felt the darkside claws lose their grip on her and the threads of her battle meditation. With a shudder of exertion, Bastila forced the collecting negative mental energy of the Republic into the Sith capital ship.

"Sir! The Sith front is collapsing at the flag ship!" Carth's head snapped up and he felt the exhilaration of his crew. They had lost hundreds of fighters and bombers and two more gun-ships had been crippled. "Master Bastila was successful, praise the Force."

"Keep an eye on that formation. We have to hope Jedi Bastila can keep this up." Carth glanced at the message Jolee had sent to him using the internal message system. "I hope she can hold up to the strain...."

"Sir?"

"They knew we were coming, knew that Bastila would use her battle meditation against them. Looks like she's fighting whatever protection they gave those vessels."

"Alpha wing reports ready to engage.... the rest of the fleet is prepared to strike the flagship and support vessels."

Carth closed his eyes and the message burned in his eyes. "_The strain is incredible, I think they have eight or nine Sith Masters united against her. She can't keep this up forever, hurry... Jolee_." He sighed. If Revan ever found out what the betrayal of the council had put Bastila at risk to...

"Engage with all gun-ships. Keep us out of range, but give supporting fire. I have to keep Bastila safe so she can give our pilots and other capita ships the edge they need."

Carth willed Bastila to help as much as possible. "I need you more than ever Bastila, help my ships win!"

Bastila grunted in agony. She could feel the intense pressure of the Sith Masters throwing themselves against her own exceptional skill. While her skill with he Force and battle meditation allowed her to fend them Sith off, while giving support to the Republic, the sheer power of the eight or so Sith against her, meant they were attacking her with brute Force.

"_Brute force and emotions_...." Her mind whispered calmly, even as another assault made her wince in agony. "_Anger, rage, all negative emotions_."

She felt the Republic crew of the Independent panic as they slipped into crossfire between two Sith dreadnoughts. With a grunt of exertion, she made the pilot remember that space was three-dimensional and the Independent slid upwards out of the crossfire, firing back with renewed vigour as the crew's moral lifted into determination.

She groaned as the Sith Masters assaulted her again, feeling her attention waver to the ship and it's crew. They attacked her and she felt agony course through her as each Sith Master brutally ravaged her mind with the darkside. She couldn't stop it, and her scream echoed into the Force.

Jolee was near panic. Bastila's body had stared to drip with sweat and shake with the terrible draining exhaustion that came from focusing this much Force into one discipline. Now he watched in mounting horror as a trickle of blood slid from her nose.

"Oh Hell, they're killing her!" He gripped her and shook her by the shoulders, but Bastila remained in her meditation, almost stubbornly. "Come on Bastila damn it, don't be so stubborn!"

Bastila shuddered. Summoning all her ability with battle meditation she forced the Sith intrusion into her mind back with sheer bloody will, but the danger was far from finished. She could feel the Sith Masters on the various ships, and especially their leader, waiting for another opening where they could attack. Yet, they remained hidden in the cloud of darkside Force that coated the Sith vessels.

"_Revan, help me..._" She thought, a shiver of fear coursing through her. "_They knew I would be here, somehow they know how to attack my meditation... How do I fight such anger and rage?"_

A sudden thought struck her. "_They are using all the negative emotions that come so easily with the darkside. Using them to attack me, disrupt my mediation. But that in itself is a weakness to their version of battle meditation. They are using the darkside to power their weaker skill, brute force against my ability. But I can use that_!"

She gathered her wits about her and strengthened her own battle meditation as much as she dared. She could feel them, poised and waiting for her to attempt an attack once again. Bastila smiled, she had other ideas. Carefully, she began to draw the negative energy into herself, storing all the fear and apprehension that the Republic was still generating. She could feel it, a darkness that fought against the bonds she held it with.

"_They want me to try and form a link with the crew?_" She paused for a second to centre herself and then ran at the capital ship. "_Very well, let's form one with the Sith Master_!"

She felt his shock, sudden delight and then aggressive response. He and his fellow Sith moved to attack her, their own joined Force threads, hidden by the dark fog that covered the ship until now, shimmering into view.

She struck, dodging past their initial mental blows, focusing on the threads that bound them in Battle meditation. They were weak, unfocused due to a lack of ability, and she struck. She bound part of her battle meditation directly into their own Force threads and she could feel their shock at her decision. As they moved to dissolve the bond, a sudden fear coursing through them at her unusual attack, Bastila let the massive surge of negative energy flow out of her and into the single thread linking her to the Sith Masters. They screamed, she could feel the massive negative energy crash into them like a wave, making them panic and become totally incapable of focusing the Force. She struck, linking the entire Sith fleet into her battle meditation, crippling them.

Carth could see the sudden difference to the Sith fighter pilots, capital ships gunners and Captains. Bastila's intense use of battle meditation now allowed his hugely outnumbered forces to outperform the Sith. Slowly, the main tactical display began to show the results edging in their favour. Carth had decided at that point to attack the Vengeance alone, counting on both the Vengeance's crew being so crippled by Bastila's battle meditation and his capital ship's hugely improved weapons, hull and actual size.

The Spirit had stormed into the battle like a hurricane, spraying deadly bursts of turbolaser fire. Although the Vengeance tried to back off, Carth had trapped it between the disarrayed fleet behind it and his own forces. Unable to escape, the Spirit pounded it into scrap metal, until it's fusion bottles detonated in a massive flash, that took most of the fighters guarding it with it in a expanding fireball.

Carth's gunners had scored the destruction of two more interdictors as the fleet crumbled into disarray with the loss of their Capital ship. With her added logistical support for the fighters and bombers, plus her larger weapon delivery, the Sith forces had slowly and inexorably been beaten back. Finally, they'd vanished into hyperspace on random vectors, much to relief of Carth's battle weary crews.

Carth had walked into the meditation suite to tell his friends the good news, to congratulate Bastila on her excellent assistance, only to find it empty. A patch of blood on the floor had made him panic and rush to the medical bay, to find Jolee looking pale and annoyed.

"I told her not to overexert herself dammit!"

"Is she alright?" Carth asked and Jolee shrugged.

"The medics are in there now, ah hell Revan's going to have words with me." Jolee sighed. "I'm an old man, I don't need some young hot blood yelling at me."

With a hiss, the medical bay door's slid open and a nurse walked slowly out, holding onto a trembling Bastila.

"The doctor says that Jedi Bastila is to rest for a few hours, then have some food. She is not to overexert herself again for the next few days."

"I am alright." Bastila muttered her face pale. "It was hard work to fight off all the Sith Masters, but I did it."

"You almost got yourself killed!" Jolee growled at her. "I won't have my Padawan doing stuff like that, understood?"

"Jolee," Bastila huffed and then sighed. "Yes, Master Jolee."

"Good. Now, come on." Jolee took her hand and began to escort her down the corridor. "You need sleep young lady."

"I cannot sleep with so much to be done. What about the fleet?" Bastila glanced at Carth who smiled.

"You've done more than enough Bast. You managed to give me a hole, right into the Sith fleets capital ship. Once we got the Vengeance, it was all over. I guess I owe you my ship, my fleet and my life."

"No, I did what I was sent to do, nothing more."

"Possibly," Carth smiled at her. "But I think I still owe you big."

"Enough chit chat!" Jolee commanded. "Come on, bed..."

"I am not tired," Bastila lied. "We have so much to do still..."

"Hmph, not you."

Jolee had pulled her all the way to her quarters, despite her arguments to the contrary. He'd forced her to take off her belt, and boots, made her creep under the covers of her bed and drink a glass of fruit juice taken from the food synthesiser, even as she spluttered at him. The soothing sedative that Jolee had slipped into the fruit juice he'd offered had slowly worked it's magic and the two friends watched her fall into a deep sleep, before creeping out of the room and heading back to Carth's office.

Present: Carth's office.

Carth watched his friend shake his head in sadness and he stared at the message glowing on his desk's holo-viewer.

"Well, we have to do what Admiral Dodonna asks." He said looked up at Jolee. "Mind you, at least I'm not shoving her and you onto a cramped shuttle."

"You're not?" Jolee stopped pacing at him and looked at him. "Then how are we getting there?"

"With us, I've been told to pass command of the fleet to Captain Frie'rre and his ship. They'll hunt down the remains of the fleet while the Spirit returns to Dantooine."

"Hmmm," Jolee frowned and walked around the desk to stare at Carth's orders from Dodonna. "Why would they want you back at Dantooine? I don't trust them, they're being elusive on purpose and that was one of the reasons that made me leave in the first place."

With a hiss, Carth's door slid open and a pale, exhausted figure stood in the doorway. Bastila leaned against the door's frame and her turquoise eyes flicked from friend to friend in concern.

"What is going on you two?" She whispered her voice quiet and tired. "I could feel your annoyance from my quarters. Now, stop being foolish and tell me what's going on."

"Sorry kid," Jolee muttered with embarrassment. "I kinda get carried away when people order me around. I got used to doing what I wanted while on Kashyykk."

"Yeah, sorry Bastila." Carth smiled faintly at her. "I know you needed rest, I'm sorry that we woke you up. To answer your question, we've all been ordered to Dantooine. You me and Jolee."

"Us?" Bastila slowly walked into the room and Jolee slid a chair across the room with the Force so that she could sit down. "Thanks, Jolee. So, we have all been ordered to return to Dantooine? What about the Spirit."

"Apparently, Carth's been ordered to bring her along too. They've passed command of the fleet to another ship and captain. So, whatever it is, it's important enough to require both a war hero and one of the latest Republic ships."

"Did it say who asked us to return?" Bastila asked softly and as Carth shared a glance with Jolee she sighed in reluctant admittance. "Did it say anything about Revan?"

"No, sorry Bastila, just that it was a request by the Jedi council." Carth shook his head, feeling helpless as she slumped slightly. "I could find out for you if you want. We've got a couple of hours before I order the jump to hyper. If you want I can try to hook up with Dantooine, see if he's there."

"Yeah kid." Jolee said, glancing at Carth. "We could comm him, find out where he is. Perhaps you could visit him if they are giving us time for relaxation. After all, I know how much you miss him and you could do with some fun."

"No point," Bastila murmured, her eyes closed. "He is on Dantooine, and he is worried." Her voice was faint, but focused. With her eyes closed, she stretched out with all of her feelings and Force abilities, despite her exhaustion, to cross the vast distances that separated them and touch her bond mates mind. Her face creased in sudden worry, Revan's horror coursing down her enhanced link. Her eyes snapped open in defence and she swallowed dizzily. "He needs me, _now_!"

"Woah, kid." Jolee placed his hands gently on her shoulders and she wobbled in the chair. "You can't help him if you're in the medical bay suffering from physical and mental stress exhaustion. Look, we can't do anything until we reach Dantooine. That'll take a few days, even with the Spirit's faster hyperdrive. I suggest you take the time to meditate, sleep and eat something. You're exhausted from using your battle meditation and need rest."

"I'm fine," Bastila murmured sinking back down onto the chair, trying to keep her eyelids from closing. "I have to write my report, change into something clean, this robe's sweat stained."

"Don't be daft," Carth murmured and Bastila glanced at him. "After all you've done, the least I can do is write a report. I agree with Jolee, you need a good meal and some sleep. I've already told the helm to set a course for Dantooine as soon as repairs are complete, so when you wake up we'll be on our way."

"You two spoil me." Bastila slurred sleepily as her exhaustion claimed her. "I couldn't sleep now, I have so much to finish."

"Kid, this is your Master speaking here! Get your young butt into bed, let me and Carth handle everything!"

"Yes, Master Bindo." Bastila smiled, shaking her head, and Carth shook his own vigorously as he watched her slowly slide off the chair and walk, with a slight wobble, towards his door. As the door hissed shut behind her, Carth glanced at Jolee with his own look of worry.

"Why does she have to push herself so hard? I mean, I remember what she looked like when that nurse brought her out of the medical bay. She could have killed herself!"

"Guilt," Jolee sighed and turning Carth was shocked at how old he looked. "I thought she was beginning to cope with it on her own, hell maybe she was. But she still has the lingering traces of guilt over what she did, what she succumbed to. Revan made her forget all that and, I think, together they were coping. Now she misses him and with nothing to take her mind off her past, nothing to help her realise she's a Jedi once more... well, she's beginning to brood."

"Hmmm. Well, if you're right, and I think you are, then this trip back to Dantooine may be just what she needs. Revan, some time off and the calm of Dantooine to meditate in."

"Carth, to be frank I think the council wouldn't ask you me and Bastila back from a mission like this unless something more important was happening. I have this terrible feeling that both Revan and Bastila may be in danger once more." Jolee shivered slightly at the memory of Bastila's vision. "She needs rest, as you say. She's a good kid, powerful and struggling to cope. Hell, she was until recently. My lessons, what little I've been able to give so far, have helped her examine her feelings... but it'll take months before she is truly free of the guilt over what she did. So, until then..."

"Until then, we do what I'm sure Juhani and Mission do for Revan, and Revan does for her." Carth interrupted and Jolee cocked an eyebrow. "We help them pull back from what they did. Even though Revan can't remember what it was like to be the dark lord... I've seen it when fragments of his past hit him, watched him tear himself apart trying to undo the damage that the Sith caused," Carth's eyes flickered to the dark window and the glinting points of light. "Helped me save my son from his own path, even though he didn't remember walking it. The least I can do for him, for my son as thanks, is keep an eye on the woman he loves."

"We both will," Jolee said quietly, a small smile appearing on his wrinkled face. "We'll keep her safe."

Carth nodded and glanced once more at the instructions from the council on the pad in front of him. They remained unchanged, full of mystery.

Carth, This is Admiral Dodonna. At the request of the Jedi council on both Coruscant and Dantooine, you are hereby ordered to pass command of the battle group onto Admiral Frie'rre and set course for Dantooine. I know that Bastila's skills with battle meditation are sorely needed with the fleet, as are you. However, something has the Jedi worried enough to request that both Jolee and Bastila return with you. I don't know the details Carth, just that Revan returned from his mission with news, dangerous news. So, I want you to go with him and whomever he chooses to go. I know he'll be in the middle of it. Oh and I have one good piece of news, Captain Denara will be assigned to you as a bodyguard. She's almost as much of a veteran as you Carth, I think you'll like her.

(Look, unofficially? Those of us who fought at the Star Forge know that we owe Revan, hell and Bastila, our lives. Without the two of them we would have been defeated. So, unofficially? Take care of them as much as possible Carth, Jedi may be powerful, but they aren't invincible. Watch your friends' backs.)

Admiral Dodonna, Commanding officer of the Republic Navy.

"You know, I think that Revan may need Bastila as much as she needs him. Whatever it is that has them spooked?" Carth dropped the pad and looked once more at Jolee's worried expression. "Revan will be in the middle of it and he's going to need someone he can trust with his life. I don't know how I know, I just do. Maybe some of your Jedi sense is rubbing off on me."

"Possibly. This old man has seen stranger things in his life. Heh, like walking rugs." Jolee joked, trying to lift the depressed atmosphere of the cabin. "Well, I'd better go and start to pack up the stuff I don't need into my bag."

"Right. I've got to go back to the bridge. My shift doesn't end for another four hours. Besides, Admiral Frie'rre has asked me to come up with a plan of action to track down the scattered Sith that Bastila's skills provided us. We should be jumping into hyper in about two hours or so, so take your own advice and get some rest, Jolee."

The two friends parted company, both wrapped in their thoughts and the lights in Carth's office dimmed automatically to save power. On the desk in Carth's office, the pad glowed with the worrying words of their orders. For a while it was the only light in the whole-darkened room, until the screen spluttered and died.

Bastila's Quarters. 

Bastila lay in her bunk, deeply asleep. Her eyes flickered and, in the dark, her fingers gripped the bed coverings as though they kept her alive. Her clammy skin was moist with perspiration and a whimper escaped from her lips. The vision of her being covered in black liquid had returned, only this time she could feel someone laughing tauntingly as they watched her futile struggle against the evil of the darkside.

"_Why resist me? You gave in once; you can give in again. Just think about what I can offer you Bastila. For all your pathetic belief in the light, in your love... You will be mine_!"

With a scream, Bastila woke from her bed and thrashed about in the dark. Her eyes shone with terror in the dark and with dry cracked lips she stammered.

"Lights on full! Oh, Revan... what... I... lights!"

She fell out of bed with a thump, onto the warm carpet of her quarters and her eyes darted around in fear as the lights shone into the room. Glancing down she saw that the thin sheets had wrapped themselves around her body, clinging due to the sweat that plastered her skin. The feeling was so like being covered in sticky fluid that she tore at them until she was able to roll onto the carpet, face down.

She lay there, panting, fighting her animal instincts as her head tossed around for an attack that never came. Ever so slowly, her breathing slowed and she scanned the room with alert eyes, shivering at the shadows in the room. Eventually, she glanced down, and then glared at the sheets, ripped and torn around her. Even as shame coursed through her at her lack of emotional control, she shivered in cold and distress.

Slowly, with the help of the older code that Jolee had taught her plus some of the meditative skills he'd been able to pass on in the little time they'd had together, she stepped away from her fear, faced it until it was just a lingering sensation down her spine. Slowly she stood up and staggered across to the mirror.

With a click of servos, the taps in the sink trickled cold water into her palms and she splashed it across her face, gasping at its waking sensation. She looked up into the glass of the mirror and sighed at the sight that met her in the neon lights.

Staring back at her was an ordinary woman, eyes rimed with bruised flesh from lack of sleep, much too pale skin, shaggy hair in two pathetic pigtails and nothing remarkable at all in her features. Not for the first time, she wondered what it was Revan saw in her. What it was he loved about her. With a sigh, she shook her head and crossed to a small table and chair, sinking into them with a long moan.

"_What were you thinking, Bastila_?" She thought mournfully. "_Why try to overexert yourself in that battle. You should have concentrated on the fighters to give the republic the upper hand. Instead you tried to take control of the whole battle and push it totally to the Republic's side, why_?"

She knew the answer and hoped that the fact she could admit it to herself meant that despite the restless nights, now that she was away from Revan... The guilt that sometimes still welled up when she met a trooper or pilot who praised her for her actions at the battle of the Forge...she was coming to terms with her fall. Being away from Revan, from his love for who she was, had hurt her more than she wanted to admit, even to herself. Right now, she needed him and he wasn't here because of duty. Now, with a sudden crisis it seemed they would be thrown together again, with no time for relaxation in each other's company.

She turned and stared at her bed. The nightmare still lingered in her memory and the bed remained unappealing. She shook her head at the thought of a Jedi being afraid to sleep, but the nightmare had been unpleasant. Jolee had wondered if it had been a vision as well, so she decided against sleeping until she felt more settled.

Bastila glanced round for something to take her mind off her depression and picked up her battered rucksack. After a few moments of rummaging around, she found the three grubby chips she'd been looking for and slipped the first into the reader. For now, she just wanted to feel that people cared about her.

"_Bastila honey, it's Helena. Just wanted you to know that your mother, despite all claims to the contrary is still alive. They're still doing the preliminary tests, but so far the signs are good. Look's like we'll be able to get to know each other for much longer than I had originally thought._" Bastila smiled despite her lingering nightmare and sank back to listen to her mother's voice. "_On a side note, I had a Master Vreik come to see me. He has asked that if yours truly feels up to it, and if the treatments actually work, would I like to come and work for the council here on Coruscant_._ Apparently they would like an experienced hunter, me so they say, to take some of the Jedi recruits and take them to some of the more exotic planets I've been to. Describe the flora and fauna, dangers ect. The pay is quite decent, and they'll give me a ship! I don't know what I did to deserve this, but with whatever time this stuff gives me... I intend to use it to the full. So, hurry back dear, as I want to spend a little time with you and your young man. _

_Take care, my daughter. _

_PS- Don't be angry with me, I had to send Revan a thank you gift."_

Smiling, Bastila plucked the chip out of the holo display and tucked it back into her bag. Her mother had commed her a few days after the treatments had begun at the hospital. She'd been pale, and had looked sick. However, despite that, her eyes had sparkled with delight and surprise as the Force had granted her an extension on her time in the galaxy. Bastila had been pleased to see and hear her, and even more pleased with the promise at the end of her message. Revan, it had seemed, had impressed Helena greatly. With a small shake of her head and an affectionate smile, Bastila plugged the second chip into the holoviewer and hit play once more.

"_To my love, with all my heart. Well, I told you I would comm as much as possible and I apologise, my love, for the week's delay. The cargo hauliers have been yanking the Hawk all over the damn galaxy so far, and comm time was too short to transmit this before the next hyperjump. I miss you," _Bastila felt her heart tug at her soul and her stomach lurched_. "I miss you terribly. It's funny, but the first time? It was when I came into the crew lounge yesterday morning and you weren't there ordering your morning caffa.... I just stared at the mug, you left it in the cupboard, and you weren't there. I miss you, as I've already told you in thsi comm a few hundred times. I'm just glad that the bond still seems to work. I can just feel you, I know you're alive and that keeps me going, knowing that I'll see you hale and hardly in a few weeks." _

Bastila agreed. Through all her week of meditative training with Jolee, preparing to use her battle meditation and dealing with those crew less inclined to forgive her, and she couldn't blame themfor killing so many of their comrades, the only thing that kept her going was the bond. She sighed and paid attention once more to the message that had continued as her mind had wandered.

_Mission, Juhani, and even Canderous, say hi by the way. Mission says to ask if it's okay to borrow your perfume. She sniggered at that, something going on?" _Bastila smiled again. The little Twi'lek and her had originally been at loggerheads, it seemed that Mission was still trying to irritate her as much as she could_. "Juhani has been busy, trying to turn the back cargo hold into a Jedi meditation and combat chamber... She's fed up of the Hawk being our transport and having little mod cons for us._

She watched the tiny image of the man she loved shuffle slightly and look at 'her' with a trace of longing.

_Bastila, I... I just want to say that I was wrong. The waiting is unbearable... I so want to hold you again, kiss you... Remember our pledge, about it being perfect? Well, I want you to know that my life is almost perfect as long as you are near me... I love you Bastila Shan, my sweet princess of the Jedi. Come home soon."_

Bastila stared at the holo of Revan as it froze. Once again, even after she'd listened to the short message over and over, it had made her eyes moist. In her cabin she snorted quietly. The big, powerful, non-emotional Jedi distraught over a lover's message and now sitting in her cabin trying not to cry. She shook her head, imagining what the council and especially Master Vrook would say if they could see her now. She felt good, however, at seeing his face, listening to his voice. It had only reminded her that soon she would be back on Dantooine.

Scrubbing her face, she glanced at her bed and sighed. The sooner she got back in, the sooner she'd wake to find them in hyperspace and one night closer to her love. With a final loving gaze at Revan's frozen light features, Bastila slipped up from the chair and, after obtaining a few towels from the refresher to act as blankets, sank back into sleep.


	17. Revenant:chapter4:part2

Part 2.

Jedi Enclave three days later.

"Well, my shuttle leaves in an hour, Mission," Lena slipped the new dresses she'd bought, with what little savings Griff had left her, into the case on her bed and turned to the young Twi'lek girl watching her. "So, are you going to come and see me off or not?"

"Well, yeah... course I will." Mission flipped the Pazzak cards in her hand into a complex fan, something Lena had realised was a give-away to Missions current emotional state. "I still say ya should stay here, get checked out and relax for a while. Sith knows what they put you at that horrible place!"

Lena glanced across slightly to see the deck furled back into a pack and gripped tightly, until the girl's knuckles whitened. With a sigh, Lena snapped the case closed and sat next to Mission on the bed.

"I've told you, I'm fine. I have to go to Coruscant, there's work for me there and a friend has said I can bunk down in her spare room. I'll be fine. Give me a few weeks to earn some cash and I'll be back on my feet." Lena watched Mission face slowly sink into itself. "What's wrong?"

"If my stupid waste of a brother hadn't jacked your cash and left you on Dantooine then you'd never have ended up on Dantooine and been captured by the Sith." Mission's eyes moistened and the guilt in her voice made Lena wince. "If you'd not been captured by the Sith then..."

"Then I'd have died on Taris, bombed into atoms," Lena said firmly and Mission stared at her face and the tears started to fall. "Mission, honey, I don't, and never have or will, blame you for Griff's mistakes. From what I've seen you're cut from much nicer cloth. To be honest, I have to apologise to you. I should have forced Griff to take you along, and it was wrong of me to leave such a beautiful young girl on her own in Taris. You could've ended up as a slave or worse..."

"Zaalbar took care of that," Mission sniffed and then gripped Lena, who shuddered in surprise. "Lena, it wasn't your fault! Griff left me not you, an.... an I'm sorry for calling you a Hutt slug an everything else!"

Lena laughed and Mission eased back with a grin on her face. "What?"

"Mission, I've been called far worse in my lifetime," Lena grinned. "It was great to see you, no matter what you called me."

"Really?" Mission stopped laughing and blushed deeply. "You were really pleased to see me? To know that I'd escaped Taris?"

Lena sighed and it was her turn to blush. "I... I never had a sister. I wanted one, but my mother died a year after I was born. My father grew distant when she died and he never found another mate. So, I gave up of ever having a sister." Lena glanced at Mission and smiled weakly. "When Griff introduced me to you, I thought you were the cutest, funniest kid I'd ever seen. I really liked you, wanted to know you better. But, you stared at me with such dislike... Still, I tried to get on with you as much as possible. I _so_ wanted you to like me in return."

"You, you wanted to be kinda like my big sister?" Mission stared in surprise as Lena nodded and blushed even deeper. "You mean it? You wanted to be my sister?"

"Oh yes, as much as someone like me could be." Lena sighed and got up from the bed to stare at the beauty of the new enclave garden. "I wanted to take you with us, to show you how good life could be, how wonderful the galaxy was when compared to Taris. But, I suppose that dream's over, you've been to more planets that I have. Hell, you're a hero for the Republic and the Jedi, and a Jedi's best friend. He cares for you, they all do."

"I know they do," Mission smiled. "But I'd love another sis, Lena..."

"Y... you would?" Lena turned around, eyes bright and Mission smiled. "You mean I could be like a, a."

"A sis? Yeah," Mission sighed and flicked her Pazzak deck gently. "It'd make up for Griff leaving me you know? Someone who I knew from Taris, who cared for me for the right reasons?"

"Oh, and didn't Revan care about you for the right reasons?" Lena teased and Mission cleared her throat in embarrassment. "Because it looks like he cares for you as much as I do, as does the furry Jedi, Juhani was it?"

"Juhani, yeah, she's a Cathar... We didn't see any of them on Taris. In fact she was the only one, well, after her parents died. It was really sad" Mission sat for a few seconds and the memory of Juhani wistfully wishing her family were still alive. The memory jolted her and she glanced up at Lena shyly. "Lena? I'd like you to be my sister, if you want to be."

"Really?" Lena felt a sudden tug in her stomach at Missions tender smile. "You mean I can call you my little sister?"

"Sure, after all. With Griff, our home, and our parents gone, we need to stick together. I... I do like you Lena and I wish I hadn't been so horrid to you. Can you forgive your little sister for being a Sith head?"

"Well of course," Lena grinned. "But I don't want to hear words like that spoken around me ever again, clear?"

"As a Jedi crystal sis!" Mission giggled. "This is going to take some getting used to."

"Mmm, but I think it may be worth it." Lena sighed suddenly and picked up her bag. "Come on, my shuttle leaves in an hour. I'll buy you a caffa and we can chat about stuff."

"Classy," Mission murmured and then with a sudden thoughtful expression, she reached into her belt pouch and pulled a micro pad from its recesses. "While you're there, can you take care of these for me?"

Lena frowned and took the proffered pad. Glancing down she gasped at the list of names, and more importantly for someone Missions age, the credits they offered. She glanced up at her 'sister' and shook her head in disbelief.

"Mission, what the..." Lena's eyes yanked themselves back down to the pad and the business side of her brain kicked into action. "There are over twenty thousand credits on offer here. Interviews, book requests, appearances, advertising, party attendances. What is all this?"

Mission shrugged and her young face creased in embarrassed anxiety. "Well, people keep tellin me I'm kinda famous. These things have been appearing on the Hawk's comm system for months. I dunno what to do."

Well, for starters you should think about which ones you want to do. There's enough start-up money on offer here for you to have a comfortable life." Lena watched Missions face struggle with the idea of her fame making money. "Take your time and read the ones already sent. Get yourself an agent on Coruscant and get him to deal with all the messages for you."

"I don't want to trust anyone," She sighed and then a thought struck her. "Hey, Lena. Suppose you became my agent? You could arrange stuff for when I come back from helping Rev. I'll share the money with you, I promise."

Lena pondered for a second and smiled softly. "Okay, I can do that for you. Look, Mission I'll be honest," Lena placed a hand gently on her young shoulders. "You're famous, so you're going to have to get used to it. Fame means agents offering you all manner of deals. I'll deflect as much flak as I can, but they'll still sneak through. So take care, okay? Oh, and don't sign anything until I or one of your Jedi friends has taken a look."

"Sure, Lena." Misson nodded and glanced at the chrono on her wrist. "We'd better hurry if you want that caffa and a chat."

Lena sighed and slipping the pad into her own belt pouch, grinned at the young Twi'lek and strode out the door, her arm wrapped around her new sister.

The Ebon Hawk.

"Try it again, T3." Revan called, his feet poking out of the Hawk's access hatch of the hyperdrive. "The plasma primer was stuck, I've cleaned it out so it should function."

"Beep." T3, his computer probe gently inserted into the main control systems of the Hawk's engine room, slipped into communication with the hyperdrive's computer and a sudden whooshing clank echoed around the Hawk's drive bay. "Beep booip?"

"No, that wasn't it. Hang on... damn, the injector assembly's come away from the housing attachment." Revan's hand snuck out and grabbed a wrench. "Give me a second here..."

"Query: Master, have you ever considered exchanging the Hawk for a less high maintenance vessel? The Hawk is prone to almost every form of hardware failure I am aware of." HK, his rusted red body standing in the corner, cloaked in shadows, stared at the feet of his Jedi Master and continued his observation. "Why do you insist on keeping such an inefficient vessel? A Jedi of your calibre deserves a better mode of transport."

"Well, we've been through a lot together," Revan muttered as the sounds of repair echoed around the room. "Plus, this ship fits me well I think."

"Query: Master?" HK stared in puzzlement at the Master's feet. "How can a fifteen ton space vessel fit an organic mea.... You, Master?"

"Because we're both from, and have, shady pasts HK," Revan slid out from under the hyperdrive and wiped his hands on a rag. "This vessel belonged to a criminal, smuggler and slaver. Now, she's the transport of some fine people. Hell, she took us into, and dragged us to safety from, the battle of the Forge. So, she's earned her redemption."

"Confirmation: Much as you have Master." HK observed his Master's uncertainty over this statement and his algorithms processed as fast as possible. "I can only wonder as to why you feel you owe so much more?"

"I don't think you can understand HK," Revan muttered, as he slowly tweaked the drive's main computer. "It's a human thing..."

"Affirmation: Very well, Master." HK shook his head slightly. Humans worried about such strange things and thought such odd notions. He was sure that even if he lived to his maximum operational life span, he would still not understand them. "May this unit perform a self test? Only with your permission of course."

"Knock yourself out." Revan glanced up at the droid and smiled faintly. "I've done all the tweaking I can here, the rest is up to the engineers. T3?"

The space droid rolled over to where Revan stood and flipped back on it's motivators to stare at him with it's glowing eye. "Beep?"

"You'd better get some rest too. Go and plug yourself into the recharger and offline for a while, you've earned it." Revan glanced at HK once more. "You too HK, you can perform your self test while taking a well earned break. I'll be safe in the enclave."

"Reluctance: Very well, Master." HK shook his droid head in worry. The Master took far too few precautions with his safety. This, in HK's book, would have included the sterilisation of all animal life within ten miles. Meatbags took dangerous risks. "I shall proceed as you command and offline for as long as in necessary to recharge, but only for that amount of time. I shall return to guard you shortly. Please, Master, be careful?"

"I promise HK, now off you go." Revan sighed as he watched HK stride after the trundling space droid and grinned. "Why do I put up with him?" He wondered aloud.

"Why indeed, young Revan?" A familiar voice echoed around the metal room and Revan turned to see Master Vandar standing sideways in the doorway as the droids passed his wizened frame. "I could also ask you why a certain young Knight has managed to 'avoid' the entire council here on Dantooine for the past three days?"

"Avoid, Master?" Revan turned away from the Jedi and began to aimlessly adjust settings. "I've not been avoiding anyone."

"Revan, you cannot simply present something of this magnitude to the council and walk away. Especially when it threatens you personally." Vandar watched as Revan moved around to the other side of the drive. "Is this why your friends have been worried about you? Why you've started to keep your distance when they try to find you?"

"No," Revan muttered never meeting the old Masters gaze. "I've been busy. Since everyone else is taking the time to relax, I thought the Hawk could do with some well deserved maintenance."

"Not the best excuse I've ever heard, young one." Vandar leaned forward on his stick. "I know full well why you've been trying to distance yourself from your friends. The thought of any of them being put in danger for no reason other than being with you is disturbing. With Malak, they were marked the second they met you. But this is different isn't it Revan. You think that by forcing them away you'll keep them safe."

"No, that's not why I'm doing this." Revan's fingers gripped the computers console whitely. "I'm not avoiding anyone, for the last time!"

"Would Bastila agree with you Revan?" Vandar asked him gently and Revan jerked as if slapped. "Will you distance her too? Would she let you?"

Revan turned to Vandar, his voice horse. "What would you do, Master? They want me! Anyone who's with me is just a target for some bounty hunter to pick off and reap the reward. You heard that, that message to those Brotherhood Jedi!" He slammed the casing down and turned to Vandar until the two faced each other across the engine room. "You're the dark lord's friend or ally? Then you're either dead or enslaved. You're the dark lords lover?"

Vandar watched silently as Revan closed his eyes, frightened for the woman he loved and the friends he'd gathered around him. "Revan..."

"If you're his lover, you become a prize! When we fought Malak it was a fight for the life of the Republic. Yes, we could all have died. But, we fought for something far more important... than any of us!" Revan shook his head despondently. "This... personal attack, this is aimed at me. Anyone who gets caught between us is meat for the grinder. I have enough guilt and death on my hands without involving those I care for. If it comes to it, I will keep my distance from my friends, I would lock Bastila in the Jedi enclave to save her!"

"And yet, have you asked them if they feel what they fight for is worth it? Would Bastila hesitate to defend you at the cost of her life? Would any of them?"

"You tell me!" Revan snapped, annoyed at the old Jedi's insight into the thoughts running through his mind. "After all, Master, you made me!"

"Revan, I know that this has shocked you, that you had hoped to put your past behind you and look to the future. You know that we did not 'create' you, we only gave you what you needed to live a full life. Please, will you listen to my advice?"

Revan stared at Vandar, his mind struggling with the soft reassurance in Vandar's voice. Curtly, he walked past the old Jedi Master and headed for the Hawk's main gantry. Even as he slapped at the gantry release he could feel his burst of ire cooling and a sense of embarrassment take its place.

As the ramp clanked softly onto the floor, Revan looked out at the courtyard and saw Juhani walking past the ship. Her arms were caked with mud and a tired expression harrowed her face. He could so easily imagine seeing her face staring at him vacantly on some pit of a planet, a sabre burn in the middle of her chest. Just another life, taken away because of him.

"She and the others are able to make their own choices, young Jedi." Revan sighed and slumped against the metal wall as Vandar hobbled slowly up to him. "It is not up to you, and that worries you immensely. You worry for her and Mission and all the others. In particular you fear for the life of Bastila. Why does it anger you so?"

Revan sighed and licked his lips slightly, nervous. "Master, what am I going to do? I don't want anymore bloodshed. Just for a little while I want to rest, I want them all to rest. But with this appearing, I have to fight the darkside again. I have to put my friends, my lover, in mortal danger." He turned away. "And all because the shadow of who I was plagues us still That is what angers me, my past and its consequences to those who follow me!"

"Revan, the shadows of your past will, I have no doubt, plague you in the future as they do now. The only thing you can do, is decide here and now, how to deal with them. The council needs your input at the meeting tomorrow, we must decide with the council on Coruscant, how best to deal with this new threat. With Telan a traitor and you attacked by her hand, this cannot bode well for any of us." Vandar sighed and hobbling up to Revan patted his arm. "I know it cannot bode well for you and Bastila. So, Look after her, young Revan, as I know she will you."

"Master can I ask one question?" Revan watched as Vandar, hobbling slowly to the ramp stopped, turned, and tilted his head. "What would you do? If you were in my place and valued your friend's lives and knew that the mission being prepared around them could end up with some of them dying.... What would you do?"

"What you have been avoiding, as you know full well what their answers would be." Vandar smiled. "Not because you are afraid to face the future or your past, Revan. You are a good man, and the fact that you know they would provide you with the answer you don't want? That makes you scared, because love is a scary business! Bastila's answer scares you even more, as you care for her even more deeply than the others."

"I'm a terrible person," Revan sighed despondently. "I care for one person more than the others, what does that make me?"

"Human, and in love." Vandar shook his head and glanced up at the troubled Jedi. "You do care for your friends, that is why you have been avoiding asking them the question. Bastila will always be more important to you, there is nothing to be ashamed of." Vandar breathed in, the sweet air of Dantooine helping to calm his mind. "Give them the choice young Jedi, and when Bastila arrives protect her as much as possible. The Force is allied to those who trust it. Trust in it to guard and guide your friends, trust in it to guide you and Bastila both now and in the future."

"The Force is what created Darth Revan in the first place," Revan tilted his head back. "I want to trust in it, but I can't, not yet. I want to protect them all, but I can't do that if they follow me!"

"You cannot protect them young Revan and no, in no way does that make it a failure on your part. They will make their own minds up and it is up to them what they do. Ask them, and protect them, but don't deny them the choice. You know better than that. After all, would you accept any of their decisions to leave you behind and face mortal danger alone?"

"No, Master." Revan shook his head and smiled reluctantly at the old Master. "How do you know to give me the right answer every time?"

"Because I am a powerful Jedi Master, with knowledge that surpasses that of others." Vandar watched Revan's eyes glimmer and he smiled. "Seriously? Do you really think, Revan, that you are the first to ask these questions? A long time ago, a Jedi your age asked the same things to his Master, and he did so for the majority of his life until he himself grew old and became a Master too. It is my pleasure to pass on my knowledge to someone who actually wants it. You, young man."

"Thank you." Revan softly murmured and with a slight shake of his tunic he sighed. "I suppose I should track down as many of my friends as possible and not only ask them something, but also apologise for my absence these past few days."

"That would be best. I take it we will see you at the meeting tomorrow as well?" Revan nodded and Vandar clicked his stick on the metal ramp. "Excellent. May I also suggest that you might want to visit the hanger later on today? Bastila's ship should arrive in three hours."

"Bastila," Revan murmured and he felt his spirits lift. "I shall, Master. I've missed her while she's been gone."

"I'm sure," Vandar shook his head at the thought of all the flak this would create amongst Vrook and the other Jedi members. He hadn't told Revan, but the decision of the Coruscant council had not settled well with some of the new Masters, and especially with one of the three remaining. "I am pleased for you, both in protecting her from self destruction and also for what has been strengthened."

With a bow, Revan glanced at the Enclave. "Thank you, Master. Now, with your permission, I should go and find Mission and the others."

"Before you go..." Vandar raised a hand and Revan paused. "I have a message from the Enclave's tailor."

"Oh?"

"Yes, he would like me to remind you that your new robes are ready to replace those... 'Horrible Star Forge robes, shame as the fabric is quite nice.' I think it was. Regardless, he has them for you."

Revan smiled and bowed. "Thank you Master, I shall go and see him first I think."

Vandar watched the troubled Jedi wander towards the main mess hall of the new enclave and shook his head. Jolee had told him about the way the very Force was focused on his aura. Now, with reluctance, Vandar could see that it had not finished with Revan, in any way. His destiny was still unfulfilled and it worried him.

Even Jedi needed time to relax, to find a centre point to focus on, which was one of the functions for the enclave. However, Revan had been unable to take any time to relax since his arrival. Even with his avoidance of his friends and council members, Revan had still responded to messages left with the Hawk's computer and his droids.

"_We can only hope that he will be strong enough to bear what may come_." Vandar thought. With a shrug, he walked down the ramp and headed towards his quarters.

Jedi Enclave sparring room.

Selyne watched her opponent from across the room, her own feet poised in battle stance on the strobing red circle under her. She shifted slightly, turning sideways to present as little strikable body mass as possible and ignited her sabre and raised it above her head, the point aimed directly at her enemy.

Her opponents own sabre hissed into existence and Selyne watched as she adopted a defensive stance, her own blade held in front of her across her chest, ready to reflect any laser bolt or sabre blade. She had one foot behind her, to absorb any physical momentum from an attack. Frankly, as Selyne stared at the green blade and waited, she was far more skilled than she had thought a consular should be.

Selyne moved slightly forward and stopped as her enemy flicked her sabre from defensive to slightly offensive in response. She was good, very good. However, Selyne was a Sentinel and a good one... She knew her skills with a blade were superior, and she was also skilled enough not to take that for granted. Her blade flipped slightly to one side, just enough to catch any upswing.

"_Wait, wait.... Now_!" She ran forwards suddenly, her own mind concentrating her Force powers to enhance her own physical speed and also to absorb as much Force energy as possible if her opponent decided to use her skills. Her own blade swung down, to crash with a spatter of sparks onto the green of her opponents.

She pushed against the green blade, trying to force it down or across so that she could attack freely. However, even as her blade pressed against her enemy and began to pressure it down, she found herself propelled away and her stomach burned. As she landed with a crash against the mat, knocking the wind out of her, Selyne grunted wryly. For all her assurance of not letting her own skill blind her, her opponent had kicked her in the stomach, forcing her away and down. Now it was her enemy's turn.

With a gasp, Selyne rolled along the mat, as the green blade slammed into the area where her head had been seconds before. With a flip, Selyne righted herself and her blade flicked up to catch a slamming swing. She pushed back, her blade crying out as the two arcing energy forms met, and her opponent staggered slightly. She reached out with her foot and with a fast spin, scythed the legs out from under her opponent, who landed with her own huff of breath.

Selyne took the advantage as quickly as possible and, straddling her enemy, slid her yellow humming blade next to her opponents' throat. "Yield!"

Quatra sighed and shook her head with a small smile. "Look down."

With a frown, Selyne glanced down to where the Jedi lay and almost cursed. Despite the fact that she had her sabre blade poised to strike, it meant nothing. Quatra, even though she lay on her back, had nonetheless, due to her years of experience, turned her position into an advantage. For, humming just below Selyne's groin lay Quatra's own blade. The old Master grinned and she waggled her eyebrows at her young opponent.

"Even though you would be able to strike me down, I would be able to return the favour. So, stalemate young one." Quatra's smile widened. "Although, even though we are at stalemate for combat, I have other techniques to call on."

Suddenly Selyne found her blade wrenched from her grasp, the speed of the grip hissing through her fingers making her gasp in pain. Her own sabre streaked through the air and hung in front of her, the point paused in mid-air.

"If you ignore the possibilities of the Force, then you loose a valuable weapon, Selyne." Quatra huffed a tiny bit as she righted herself. "You seem to have focused almost totally on using the blade. How much Force training have you actually done?"

"Enough to be able to quicken my motions, protect myself from harm and most Force abilities." Selyne admitted reluctantly, eyeing the blade. "But I had always been taught that a sabre blade, when properly used, can defeat any Force able opponent."

"Who on earth told you that?" Quatra asked, as Selyne watched her floating sabre extinguish and then flick to hook onto her belt. "Any Jedi who could match their Force training with your Sabre abilities would be formidable. If you had learned equally in both, then your will would have been able to stop me from taking your own weapon from you. Jedi sabres have a... an impression left on them in the Force. With the right training, the weapon becomes irremovable from a Jedi's hand the way I did it."

"I see," Selyne pondered as she walked over to where Quatra and herself had stored their towels and water bottles. "How long would it take to teach myself this skill?"

"Depends on the tutor and the learner." Quatra smiled in memory. "For Juhani? She allowed me to do that three times. Each time, she grew annoyed with me, until the very last. On that final battle I attempted to snatch the sabre from her grip... only to find it was irremovable. Then, just as I was about to congratulate her, I found my own sabre yanked from my grasp and held in front of me. It carried terminal language, and was the first time I saw Juhani look pleased."

"How long did that take her?" Selyne asked Quatra, interested.

"Lets see... between the first time I did it and when she surprised me?" Quatra popped open her water bottle and sipped thoughtfully. "About... two months."

"Two months!" Selyne paled and Quatra smiled. "Two months... oh."

"Juhani always was one for careful examination of my techniques." Quatra grinned and then shrugged. "Personally, I thought it would take her far longer."

"I... I see." Selyne muttered and sucked her water. She glanced at Quatra and frowned. "Master Quatra, may I... I mean can I?"

"What?" Quatra asked with a look of genuine puzzlement.

"Well, it's just that." Selyne sighed and unable to help herself blurted her question out. "Well, are you and Juhani... dating?"

"What?" Quatra's eyes widened in surprise. "No, not at all!"

"It's just I heard rumours about why Juhani turned to the darkside. I... well, I heard it was because you rejected her." Selyne watched as Quatra's face reddened. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No, no.... It's alright." Quatra sighed and slumped against the wall. "The short form is that she told me how she felt when we were sparring. I was surprised, not that she found me attractive, but that she had the courage to tell me." Quatra glanced at Selyne and shook her head. "To my shame, I used it to test her defences against the darkside, I was so sure it was passion that drove her, and to my further shame it proved to be her undoing."

"I have to say, it does seem harsh," Selyne shook her head and glanced at Quatra's steadily reddening face. "Why not tell her that you weren't in love with her and leave it at that? That would have been far more... compassionate, more like a Jedi."

"Do you think I don't know that?!" Quatra snapped, only to sigh and sip her water again. "I suppose I was a little surprised and shocked. I knew about Belaya of course, and decided it wasn't my position to stop it. But when she told me that it was me she loved? That was one of the few times I've ever been totally overwhelmed."

She shook her head. "But that in no way excuses what I did. I was so cold when she told me how she felt, and when I baited her about her 'foolish passion' during that day's session... I deserved everything I got." Quatra shuddered slightly. "Let this be a lesson to you Padawan. Even the most learned of Jedi can get things dead wrong! I promise, one day I'll make it up to her."

"It was lucky Master Revan came along, or she could have hunted you down and killed you for betraying her love." Selyne sipped her own water and watched as Quatra gripped her bottle, dealing with the emotions that the conversation produced. "He, changes things... doesn't he. I mean, people seem to loosen up when he's around. With Juhani, he helped her to fight what little darkness had taken hold."

Selyne span the water bottle around in her palm, thinking, "She was lucky I think. I've heard that the dark side is incredibly difficult to resist; especially when it has you in its clutches. The others say Juhani was always quick to temper... that she had strong emotions. So, I think she was very lucky to have someone to help her deal with those sides of her aura."

"Yes," Quatra muttered blushing. "She was lucky, if I believed in luck. But there is no luck, only the Force. I failed her and the Force decreed that Revan would bring her back." She avoided Selyne's gaze. "So, I owe him more than Juhani does. So, I will follow him on this mission, no matter what happens or where we go. "

"Well, where Revan goes I follow." Selyne tapped her bottle against her thigh. "I am his Padawan, so I should follow him into the darkest places where he will need help. However, I would do so anyway." Selyne glanced over at Quatra who raised an eyebrow. "Revan is a sign of the future, a redeemed dark lord. I have to protect him for the good of the Republic and the order."

"Thank you, both of you." A sudden male voice echoed in the room. The two women turned to see Revan, a smile on his face, standing at the entrance to the sparring room. He licked his lips, uncertain what to say. "Look, I'm sorry you've not seen much of me recently. Since I brought that message to the council, I've had... things to think about."

"I'm sure," Quatra murmured at him. "So, I presume you've realised we're coming with you and you'll have to put up with it."

Revan smiled at them both and sighed. "Look, I had come here to ask you to come with me, but having listened to that little conversation..." Revan paused for a second and shrugged, embarrassed. "I think I know what your answers would be."

"Revan, we want to come with you." Quatra glanced at Selyne. "Is that what you've been wrestling with? Your previous friends faced danger as great, or even greater than this, Malak was not someone you trifled with. So, what makes this so different?"

"This is personal." Revan muttered and as Selyne opened her mouth, he waved at her. "I know the Star Forge and Malak were personal as well. But, well I've always considered that as cleaning up after my previous life. This, this is aimed at me... Jedi Revan, no one else. I... I'm not sure that you should follow me. However, it's wrong for me to take the choice out of your hands..."

"I have already told Quatra where I stand, Master," Selyne bowed slightly in front of him. "I shall follow you as a Padawan should. However, I would follow you anyway, I... I like you Revan."

Revan smiled at her and she returned the smile slightly. With a shake of his head, he turned to Quatra. "I know what your answer is. You're coming with me because you think you owe me a debt."

Quatra blushed and nodded. "I owe you Revan. This way, I hope I can someway make it up to you and Juhani."

"You don't owe me anything," Revan placed a hand on her shoulder. "So, you don't have to follow me out of debt. After all, isn't your Padawan waiting for you around here?"

"I've already met him," Quatra sighed and placed the water bottle on the floor. "But he'll have to wait. I said I would come with you, as I owe you. If you won't let me come because of that then I'm coming with you, as a friend." She paused and looked at him with a faint smile "That is, if you'll let me..."

"Thank you," He murmured, his voice cracking slightly at their confidence in him. "Both of you. I... I can only say that I'm proud to have you as friends."

"We Jedi have to stick together, my Master." Selyne bowed again.

"Will you please stop that?" Revan muttered, blushing, and Selyne sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Very well, Master. As you wish."

"Right," Revan coughed and glanced around. "So, I know where Juhani is, I'll talk to her later. I need to speak with Mission. Canderous too, but he's probably in the cantina near the enclave."

"Mission?" Quatra pushed herself off the wall in shock. "Revan, you can't ask her to come with us. It's too dangerous!"

"But she came with us on the supply run." Selyne objected. "How was that any less dangerous than coming with us all this time?"

"That was to take supplies to Taris, her home-world. You haven't been with Mission as much as I have Selyne. If I'd tried to stop her, she'd have signed on with the cargo crews instead. At least when she came with us I convinced her to stay safely on board the Hawk, rather than getting killed defending the cargo. " He sighed. "Look, as I said, this is a personal affair, and I don't want her in any danger because of me. She's too young."

Quatra frowned. "If she wouldn't let you stop her coming with us on the supply run... what's to stop her coming with us on this trip?"

"I don't know..." Revan sighed and smiled weakly. "Maybe if I tell her the truth?"

"Well, that's up to you." Quatra shook her head. "But I doubt she'll let you."

"Thanks... I'll think of something, I hope." Bowing to Quatra, and winking at Selyne, Revan walked out of the sparring room, his face thoughtful as he pondered how to tell Mission he wanted her to stay in safety. Selyne watched him go and with a shrug, turned to Quatra.

"Got time for another spar?" She asked, tossing her lightsabre in her palm.

"Sure," Quatra wiped her brow with her towel and turned to Selyne with a smile. "Lets do this."

Juhani's quarters.

The steam from the shower wafted past the half open door and Juhani guiltily inhaled the scented soap she had purchased while they had visited Coruscant. Spicy and fruity, it smelled divine and she sighed in pleasure. Her first real shower in months, she'd actually missed the large sized Refresher she had in her room. The Hawk's refresher, while practical, was far too small to relax in.

Ever since her life on Taris, amongst the grime of the lower city, Juhani had found bathing to be a deep pleasure for her. Her enjoyment had once unsettled her slightly. The idea that a Jedi should not feel emotion, any emotion, had made, to her, the enjoyment of bathing wrong somehow. So, she'd tried to repress it, while quietly giving in to the feel of the hot water massaging her fur. To compensate, she'd always used the most basic soap as a penance.

Her experiences with Revan had shown her that some emotions could... no, should be felt by Jedi. With Revan, she'd felt compassion, friendship, and an affectionate love from her friends. That had made her realise what she was fighting to protect in the universe and also why she couldn't pretend she didn't have emotions. Her meeting with Quatra, and her Masters apology, had only reinforced this.

So, now she stood in front of her refresher door, and inhaled the soap she held gently in one hand with deep pleasure. The young woman at the counter had seemed surprised to see a Cathar buying such an item. Juhani had thought it was due to the rarity of her race, but the shopkeeper had told her that Cathar didn't buy such strong smelling soap. When Juhani had pressed her about this, she'd shrugged and explained that the Cathari who came in and spoke to her mentioned that they preferred to be clean but not smell of anything else.

Juhani smiled slightly and stared at her yellow-eyed gaze in the mirror. This Cathar was different. The smile faded slightly as her mind wandered.

She would never be able to forget the way she had stank in the lower slums. Always getting into fights with the people, who despised her race, living in their apartment with barely working sanitation, the smoke, grease and other stenches. Juhani shivered and the smile returned. No, this Cathar liked to smell of fruits and spices, and enjoyed feeling clean.

With a sigh, she opened the door and stepped back slightly as the hot steam wafted out into the cool Dantooine air, wrapping her fur in tiny water droplets. Her eyes gleamed with anticipation as she stepped into the warm water cascading out of the fixtures.

With a deep sigh she relaxed against the wall and let the hot water beat her fur and massage the muscles underneath. Slowly, she felt herself begin to unwind, and as she reached for the scented soap she began to ponder.

This shower was the only personal time she'd managed to pull back from a frequently more nervous Yuthura. Not that she minded spending time with her, but even Juhani had desired a chance to shower and change her rumpled clothing.

When they'd arrived, Juhani had walked down the ramp, trying not to hiss in pain from the tight grip that Yuthura had held onto her with. The woman's knuckles had actually been white, as her disturbed mind tried to cope with what was happening. Even Revan's presence was unable to calm her down, and when the healers arrived to help her to the medical wing, Yuthura, once one of the proudest and powerful Sith Masters on Korriban, had whimpered and hidden behind Juhani like a small child.

It had taken Juhani ages to coerce her out from behind her. Eventually, she'd only managed to bring Yuthura to the people who might heal her, by holding her hand all the way to the medical bay.

Juhani sighed and let her head drop, so the water could batter against her tense neck muscles. She was lying slightly to herself; she had to admit it. Every time she saw Yuthura's panicked face, Belaya's last moments replayed themselves in her mind. She couldn't help but give Yuthura as much compassion as she needed, for her own peace of mind.

"_Still, maybe there's more to it than just compassion..._" She thought slowly, only to growl and open her eyes.

"Nonsense, I'm just helping her as repayment for doing what I should have done." She muttered, her eyes flicking around the refreshers small cubicle as she realised she was talking to herself, worse lying to herself.

She shook her head at her thoughts and, desperate to think about anything else, reached for the scented soap. As the warm water hit the bar, the scent of spices and fruits assailed her, bringing the smile to her face once more. She rubbed it into a thick lather and began to run it into her velvet thick fur. As the soap fluffed her fur into a thick lather and the oils from the spices and fruits began to assail her mind, Juhani's thoughts began to wander once more.

Getting Yuthura to the medical bay had been hard, keeping her there was even harder. When she actually got her to settle into the bed, and stop whimpering as the nurses walked past the door, Juhani found that she couldn't leave. Every time she tried to get up and walk out of her room, Yuthura would whimper and slip out of bed, begging her not to go. Juhani had eventually realised that, as long as Yuthura was awake she wouldn't be able to leave. Eventually, however, the confused Twi'lek would slowly fall asleep, and that allowed Juhani to sneak out of the room to get a meal and some personal time to herself. But, she still returned every day, to keep Yuthura Company.

While she slept, Juhani took advantage of the free time to visit her friends on the Hawk. However, it had been hard of late to keep up with some of them. Mission was spending time with Lena, and it was hard for Juhani to begrudge her. The young Twi'lek was her friend and it had been good to see the closest thing the young girl now had to family, as that slime Griff had run off once more, actually grow closer to her. The downside was that Juhani enjoyed spending time with her and now felt as though she was getting in the way. So, she left Mission alone, hoping that eventually the young girl would come and see her.

Canderous, the only Mandalorian that Juhani could stand to be near, if only for his gruff honesty about his past, was nowhere to be found inside the Enclave. She'd eventually tracked him down to a Cantina in a small town nearby and decided that he probably deserved to enjoy whatever he was doing without any interruption by her.

Quatra had taken a liking to Selyne and had, for the past few days, given her a few pointers about the Force and it's use. Mainly, as Quatra had confided to her one night, because Revan had been avoiding Selyne and herself. Her Master had been worried, Juhani could tell, but she had no words of comfort to give her. This was because the one person she really wanted to talk to was avoiding her as much as the others.

Revan had been almost impossible to find anywhere in the complex, even going to the lengths of blocking his Force aura when he was actually around the Enclave. When she found a fellow Jedi who had seen him, she arrived too late.

Juhani was troubled. Revan had been avoiding them ever since the message that Mission had found on the dead Dark Jedi. Juhani had been desperate to find him, to assure him that she would go wherever he had to, would defend him with her life if need be. She owed him, but she couldn't find him to tell him so.

Juhani sighed into the cleansing steam as the hot water sluiced the lather from her fur. She ran her hands across her body, straining the remaining water from her body and stepped smoothly out of the cubicle. A few moments later she stood in her bedroom, wrapped in a soft towel and on top of the world. Clean and fragrant, her hair fluffed from the shower and subsequent towelling dry, Juhani gazed out of her window at the gorgeous landscape and smiled. This was what it meant to be a Jedi, to be at peace, to enjoy life.

"_I have made myself_," She thought, as her hands pulled her long mane once more into a tight ponytail and bound it with a red cord. "_But only with Revan's assistance to avoid the darkness that almost consumed me. I have to find him, to tell him that he will always have my assistance_." An image of Yuthura strapped to the rack they had rescued her from crossed her mind and Juhani sighed reluctantly. "_Still, I have other obligations as well. I hope the healers arrive soon, she deserves as much assistance as we can provide. I must see this happens_."

She stretched slightly and turned to gaze at the soft bed and it's warm sheets. She had a few hours before Yuthura was due to wake once more, so the medics claimed anyway, so she could catch a few hours of sleep before going to see her again.

Hopefully, Yuthura would be tended to by two of the finest Jedi mind healers that the order possessed. The basic healers in the complex had assured her that they would arrive today, but so far she had seen no sign of them. Without their help, Yuthura would remain unable to associate with the world. Juhani would not allow that to happen, on her honour and Belaya's memory.

"_Not because I find her attractive in any way_." She added, trying not to think of Revan and Bastila's happy admittance of their love for each other. "_I am a Jedi and I do not have a bond with Yuthura as Revan does with Bastila. While they may share such emotions... I must remain devoted to the Jedi ideals."_

As her eyes gazed once more at the soft covers of her bed, she was unable to resist their call any longer. Pushing her mixed thoughts away and calling on her Jedi disciplines to calm her mind, Juhani stifled a yawn. She reached to the controls next to her window and, with a single press, the panes flickered and dimmed to a smoky blackness. Gently, she shifted out of the soft towel and slipped between the sheets with a grateful sigh.

"_I shall deal with Revan and Yuthura later_," She thought slowly, yawning. "_Yes, later. But for now, I need sleep_."

Slowly, Juhani felt her eyes begin to droop and then close. Even though she resisted thinking of anything, her final memory was the way Yuthura had stroked her face in fascination and the sensation of amusement that had passed through her. Her breathing slowed and soon Juhani slumbered.


	18. Revenant:chapter4:part3

Dantooine pathways.

Revan walked along the main walkway towards the main starport near the enclave. A few of the Jedi he had talked to along the way had pointed him in that direction as that was where Mission had gone with Lena.

As he walked, his fingers absently stroked the fabric of his new robes. Finally, he'd managed to dump those ridiculous robes from the Star Forge. He'd handed them over to the Enclave's tailors and asked them to try and create a set of robes using the same material. Now, he relished the exquisite work that they had put into them.

The primary colour of the shirt was a deep black, with a slight trace of silver tracing set into it. Fitted for him, the robes were light and fluid, perfectly balanced. The trousers that came with the tunic however, were a light, almost sky blue, obviously designed to contrast the black. Made of the salvaged Star Forge fabric, he could feel the robes aid his focus of the force, but now they felt so right.

The only addition not formed of Star Forge material was the new cloak that they had added, a much darker blue than the trousers. It was detachable, designed for a Jedi who wished to ward off bad weather, or to shield himself from attention. Revan had decided he liked his new tunic very much. It made him feel like a true Jedi.

Now, as he walked along the permacrete pathway, Revan's mind was filled with how he was going to ask Mission to stay in the Enclave, safely out of danger. Revan glanced up as two civilians walked past him, their mingled gasps shaking him out of his thoughts. He nodded, missing their awed gazes as without a second glance he walked on.

If he told her not to come with him, she'd fight all the way, Revan knew her as well as she knew herself. No, she wouldn't fight him, he thought with a shake of his head, she'd nod and promise not to come and then steal away on board. Revan sighed aloud and smiled slightly.

"_Such a little hot head_," He thought wryly. "_With a razor sharp tongue to boot. I know what she'll say, why can't she come when she fought with me all the way to the Star Forge. I suppose in almost every way she's right, but still... I can't help but fear for her life."_ Revan felt his hand caress the hilt of his lightsabre and suddenly grip it_. "This is not like the Star Forge mission, this is different. It's not a race against time to stay alive and it's not a race to defend the Republic. No, this time it's all about me... about who I was."_

Revan unhitched the hilt and slowly gripped it in the Force, allowing it to levitate slowly and begin to spin. Even with his mind preoccupied over Mission, Revan felt a gentle tug as Bastila's voice failed to reproach him over such a frivolous use of Force. He missed her, needed her council. Yet, she remained too far to help him.

He looked up as a sudden slight downdraft of air hit him, a huge passenger transport blotting out the sun as it roared over his head, and his mind turned back to Mission.

_" She has her entire life ahead of her, she needs to see what the rest of the galaxy can offer compared to Taris and Griff. I can't let her come with me."_

But how would he stop her? Revan's hand slipped to the hilt of his lightsabre and gripped it in thought. Mission deserved to know the truth as to why he wanted her to stay where it was safe. He wouldn't lie to her, he would tell her the truth and that was the problem.

"_Well, I'll deal with that problem when it arrives..._" He thought with a sigh. "_But its not going to be easy_."

A much harder draft of wind blew down on top of him and he looked up. A vast civilian transport thundered overhead, it's repulsor's hammering the air to give it height as the huge nose pointed towards space. Revan shielded his face from the blowing wind and shook his head wryly. His absent-minded walk had brought him to the front entrance. Taking a deep breath, he walked in.

The sound of hundreds of various races hit him at once. The various languages, food odours and voices assailed him. Since the Jedi enclave had made it's presence known, and especially since the Jedi had begun to rebuild and enlarge the recently gutted shell, traffic on Dantooine had shot up tremendously. Many of those here were coming to see if the Jedi could help them. Many would be disappointed as they were still so few, others would get the small hope that, whatever their problem, the Jedi could aid them.

Revan glanced around as he realised many of those people wandering around would recognise him, thanks to the holonet's constant broadcasts. Many would wish to congratulate him, others would only wish to hurl abuse at him. Revan wished to meet neither. Even now, he didn't feel in any way a hero, but nor did he feel that abusive yelling or physical violence was deserved by him either.

Quickly, he stepped behind a Panaa fern and quickly pulled the hood of his cloak around himself, he hoped it would be sufficient to hide his face. He knew people would stare at the lightsabre hooked to his belt, but they would hopefully see him as no more than a Jedi on a mission for the council.

He stepped back into the throng and checked the tiny multifunction display on his wrist. Lena was heading to Coruscant, Mission had left him enough messages, many of them to his shame increasingly worried, for Revan to know that. He glanced up at the holo-display and read the various flickering symbols, scanning down them for a specific entry. Two transports would go to Coruscant today, one in an hour and the other in eight...

Revan noted the pad number of the ship that left in an hour and slowly began to weave his way around the throng of people towards it. As he walked along the plush carpet of the main corridor linking them all, his mind flickered back to Mission.

"_How am I going to ask her to stay out of this?_" He thought once more, his face drawn in anxiety. "_I don't want her running away in a huff, or worse leaving us all in anger. I don't want to upset her, I just want her to be safe_."

He sighed as his thoughts chased themselves once more. He had no answer; it would be Mission who would decide how she would handle his request. If that meant she never spoke to him again, hated him, or never trusted him ever again then so be it. It was a small price to pay for the young woman to be as far from the Dark Jedi as he could get her.

Revan glanced across at a small cafe and sighed at the sight of people enjoying a carefree drink or snack before they boarded a shuttle or transport to their chosen destination. He supposed that his life had never in truth been normal, even though he had the inserted memories of a past before the Jedi. None of it had been true, so he found himself staring at the people in the cafe with just a tinge of jealously. Slowly he shook himself. That was the past and he had more important things to do than feel sorry for himself.

A few minutes later, after two wrong turns and a quick request for directions, Revan walked into the main boarding lounge of the Coruscant transport. He stopped suddenly as he took in the sight of Mission and Lena standing next to one another as the Zabrak hostess at the boarding terminal checked Lena's ID against her thumbprint and cornea match.

"Thank you Madam," The Zabrak smiled and handed back the data wafer with Lena's ticket information. "Boarding will commence in fifteen minutes."

"Thank you," Lena smiled at her and turned to Mission. "Well, fifteen minutes before I'm gone. So, I suppose this is goodbye for a while...."

"Yeah," Mission smiled sadly and her Lekku writhed with anxiety. "Look, Lena, I want you to take care on Coruscant okay?" Mission looked up at the woman who had offered to be a surrogate sister with worry. "Lena, you're like, really pretty. Although Coruscant ain't no way like Taris was? I hear stuff, bad stuff can happen down there. Your Pretty and a lot of guys're not gonna take no for an answer."

"Mission, I'm a big girl." Lena smiled at her worried expression. "Besides, I'm not going anywhere that seedy. That friend who said I could bunk? Well, I never really told you but she did quite well for herself. So, although it's not going to be the galaxy hotel, it'll be safe and secure while I look for a job. I thought as a secretary maybe..."

"You a secretary?" Mission grinned, sobering as Lena scowled slightly. "Sorry, it's just that ya were born to be a dancer Lena, even Griff could see that. So, why not be a dancer again? Canderous was muttering that there are loads of bars on Coruscant that'd hire you."

"Really," Lena stared at Mission and kicked herself. She kept forgetting how young and naive this kid was. "Did he happen to mention, Mission, what they woudl be looking for in a dancer?"

Mission frowned for a second and then blushed. "Oh. Yeah, he did kinda grin a lot when he said that."

"Yeah I'll bet. Even Javyars Cantina wasn't that bad." Lena sighed and affectionately rubbed Missions shoulder. "I told you, don't worry. I've got a few ideas for jobs and a few friends who owe me. So, I'll be fine, and I promise to look into all these offers you've been getting, Mish."

Mission smiled weakly. "Mish? I look like a... a Mish to you? Only one person calls me mish." Mission turned away from Lena's unsure face and a broad smile slipped onto her face. It was as she was looking up, that she spied Revan standing in the entrance hall. "Hey, and there he is! Rev, you came to say goodbye to Lena!"

Revan smiled weakly. This was going to be harder than he thought. Slowly he walked up to the two women.

"Well, to be honest I forgot she was going until one of the Jedi told me you had gone with her to the starport, Mission." Revan turned to Lena and smiled. "However, you're right in that I wish to say goodbye." He held out his hand and Lena gripped it tightly. "Lena, I hope you have a safe voyage to Coruscant, and everything works out well for you there."

"Thank you," Lena whispered, trying to stop herself from shaking. A Jedi, Missions friend, actually cared what was going to happen to an ex dancer. "Really, thank you, Jedi Revan."

"Revan, Lena, always Revan to my friends." He glanced at Mission and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Mission, I need to talk to you in private after we've seen Lena off, okay?"

"Sure Rev," Mission bounced up and down slightly. She could tell her friend was worried. Not unsurprising, as her messages, to an increasingly annoyed HK47, had remained unanswered for the past few days. "You can buy me a caffa while you suck up for, y'know, being unreachable for the past few days!"

Revan blushed slightly. "Okay, okay. Mission, we're supposed to be here to say goodbye to Lena." Revan glanced across at the other Twi'lek who grinned. "Again, I hope you find what you need on Coruscant. If you ever get into trouble, don't hesitate to comm me or Mission, okay?"

"Thank you, Master Jedi," Lena bowed slightly making Revan feel ridiculous. "I'll be fine, but I'll keep your offer in mind if I ever need help." Lena turned to Mission and held out her hands. Mission's face twisted slightly with awkwardness, but she suddenly ran into the older woman's arms and all her worry lines slipped into a grin. "Take care sis. I'll comm you as much as I can, okay Mission?"

Mission felt Lena squeeze her tightly and she quivered at a deep warmth in her stomach.

"Yeah, I'm gonna miss you, a lot!" She sighed and looked up at Lena's smiling face. "Look, fer what it's worth Lena, I... I wish I'd been nicer to you."

"Little hot head," Lena whispered affectionately. "But, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for saving my life. I know I never actually said it in so many words, so I've said it now." Mission blushed and Lena squeezed her one last time. "Well, I suppose I should get ready..."

The Zabrak, who had been politely taking other passengers tickets while the two Twi'lek women had hugged and squeezed each other, coughed politely. "Miss? We're boarding now..."

Lena sighed and picked up her duffle bag. "Well, here I go."

"Yeah, what an adventure!" Mission's face was alight, but Revan could feel the sadness hidden behind her enthusiasm. "Look, I'll come an visit as soon as I can, I promise."

Lena walked over to the Zabrak, who smiled and pressed a button to drop the barrier to the transports hatch. Turning back, she smiled sadly. "I'll hold you to that little sister."

With a final wave and smile at Mission, and a bow to Revan, Lena turned to the hatch and stepped through. Mission watched the shiny plasti-steel door hiss shut behind her and glanced up at Revan.

"I'm gonna miss her." She muttered and Revan placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Can we, like, watch her leave before you and me get down?"

"Sure," Revan murmured and walked with her to the huge window. The massive transport shone in the sun and as they waited for it to take off, Mission sniffed.

"Lena asked if I could be her sister, nice huh?"

"Well, considering you called her a brother stealing, whatever it was, I think so." Revan glanced down at her and sighed. "She cares for you, Mission, we all do. I knew she did when she came over to talk to you back on Dantooine. The relief that was pouring off her, she must have heard about Taris, was palpable. Then as she tries to make friends... bang, you slap her down." Mission blushed. "Still, I suppose having someone you thought hated you become your rescuer, that'll redeem your faith in someone."

"Okay," Mission muttered, as she pressed a smooth hand against the glass. "You don't like, have to rub it in! I know how much of a Rancor spawn I was. I told ya, Griff is a touchy subject... I suppose that included Lena." She looked up at her Jedi friend. "I've been a moron, an I suppose I'm trying to make up for that."

"Possibly," Revan murmured and glanced down. "Lena might just be doing the same thing, ever considered that?" Mission frowned and he pushed on. "She's offered you something you've never had Mission, family. I know you had Zaalbar, but she's the first Twi'lek who's cared for you like that. Considering she was Griff's fiancée, I think she feels obligated to look after you now that he's vanished. Plus," He glanced down to see her scuffing her boot on the window frame. "She thinks she owes you her life."

"That's dumb," Mission murmured and stared at the reflection of her face. "I don't want people to owe me their lives Revan. I'm a woman, a young woman... How do I cope with stuff like this?"

"Hero's have to," Revan placed both hands on her shoulders and squeezed. "You're a hero, Mission."

"I don't want to be," She whispered. "I just want to help people like me... those who, like, didn't have the chance I did to escape."

"I know." Revan squeezed her slightly and looked up as the huge engines on the back of the transport burst into glowing life. Slowly, its ponderous bulk heaved off the pad and turned gently on its massive repulsors to face the sky. With a flicker, the huge engine funnels grew incandescent, and even Revan and Mission could hear the roar as they began to push the transport into the sky. As the transport finally began to slide into the sky, Mission sighed and then turned to Revan and cocked her head.

"Well? You gonna buy me a caffa or what?"

Mission sat numbly, staring at her caffa mug as Revan gazed at her over his own steaming cup. He'd stopped speaking two or three minutes ago, and yet Mission just sat there.

"Mission?" She looked up at him and her eyes were moist, holding back tears. "Ah, Mish, don't be like that."

"Don't be like what?" She whispered at him. "Upset, distraught at how my family are trying to dump me while they go off on a mission that could get em all killed?"

Her voice raised in tone and a few customers glanced in their direction. Neither Revan nor Mission paid them any heed.

"It's not like that, Mish," Revan began, his own hands gripping his caffa cup tightly. "Really, I just want you to be safe!"

"Safe," Mission slumped down and her Lekku drooped. "The safest place, chuba face, is with you. Tell me why, why you want me to stay the Force away from you all."

"I don't! I'd love you to come with us, but this is different."

"Oh yeah? How about the Star Forge eh? Or the cargo raiders and the Sith slavery bar. You want me to be safe and yet I went will all of yah on those!" She looked up at him and frowned, her upper lip trembling. "What's the difference?"

Revan sighed. This was the hardest part as he was dammed if he could think of a reason good enough for her. The truth of the matter was he just wanted her to stay with the Jedi, that was it. Forget the combat skills, the hacking, and her uncanny luck... He'd found himself imagining her face along with Bastila and the others lying dead and vacant somewhere. The thought had frightened him almost as much as when he dreamed of Bastila's face, cold vacant... dead. With a shudder he looked up at the very much alive, hurt and angry Twi'lek in front of him.

"The difference is that we were running from the Sith when we went up against Malak, that we were fighting for the very survival of everything we believed in. You wanted to help and to repay the debit you felt you owed. I couldn't let you down because you believed in me, because you were part of our family and at that time being with us was the safest place you could be." Revan watched her face flinch. "You would have come with me on the Taris cargo run even if, I'd told you not to. It was your home world Mission, you would have done anything to get those supplies to them."

"And the Sith slave bar?" She asked him quietly. "What about that? I went with you, you needed my help and I was in danger all the time. I did it because, y'know, you said we were like family and stuff. Juhani is like a big sis to me and she wanted to save Yuthura. So, why the Force can't I come and help you, my big bro, stop some "Brotherhood" or whatever kill ya?"

Revan sighed and reached out to take her hand, but she pulled back. He watched as her eyes bored into him and with a sigh looked away.

"Okay, fine. The real and only reason I want you to stay here on Dantooine is so that you'll be safe." He looked up. "I don't want to see you lying dead on the ground of some planet or ship, or worse as an enslaved dancer or pleasure girl!" He looked away from her. "That's why I've been avoiding you, and them. But they have a choice Mission, you're just a kid!"

"I m not a kid!" Mission snapped at him and she stood up angrily. The patrons of the cafe looked down at their own drinks, desperate to look at anything but the arguing Jedi and angry young Twi'lek. "I'm nearly fifteen damn ya!"

"Exactly," Revan said softly looking up at her. "You have an entire life to lead Mission, a very long one, I hope. I don't want your life to be full of the darkness that seems to follow me around. Juhani, Jolee and the others feel that they are doing what they want in life by helping me. Bastila, she loves me for some strange reason, and will follow me regardless of what I say." He held up a hand and Mission's spluttered response died. "I know you love me Mish, as a brother. Hell, you love us all in some ways. But this time I want to act as a real brother should. You're only a teenager and a young one at that."

"I'm not a kid!" She repeated angrily.

"No, I know. But neither are you old enough to realise what coming with me would mean. The others are old enough, wise enough, to understand what it means. I know you have a older head on young shoulders, but you're not old enough to choose."

"Stop saying that! You... you, you _two faced_ _chuba face_!" She yelled at him and turning stormed out of the cafe. Revan sighed, and quickly dropped a few credits onto the table and ran after her. She was right, oh she was so frighteningly right and it scared him to realise that he had only one reason for wanting her to stay on Dantooine, and it was selfish. For all his telling her she wasn't old enough, he had let her come with them in the battle against Malak, he had let her come on the transport and he had asked her to infiltrate the Slave bar to save Yuthura and the other civilians. So why now did he want her to stay?

"_Because this one is all about you. No higher goal, no battle for what's right and every chance that whoever follows could end up dead. It's your problem and they want you_." His mind unwillingly replied. "_You've tried to protect the others, but you knew that was impossible. Bastila would sacrifice herself for you and would ignore any plea to stay. So, you've tried to stop the one person who you think is too young to come with you. The problem is... she's older than she looks_."

As he ran outside of the starport building, he spied her running as fast as possible along the path to the Jedi enclave. Taking a moment to centre himself and the Force, he ran after her. With the Force flowing through his muscles, his feet blurred on the permacrete and it was seconds until he was on top of her. He reached out and tapped her gently on the shoulder.

"Mission, please just listen to me." He asked her. She turned a tear-streaked face toward him. "Please, let chuba face here try and explain."

She slowed and stopped to collapse on the grass next to the path. As Revan slowed and stepped next to her, sinking slowly down, she glared at him and sniffed.

"You're a nasty piece of work Rev! All that poodoo about being a family an stuff, but you wont let me help ya cause I'm too young? That's mean, and unfair and you know it, cause otherwise you'd have kept ya big mouth shut!" She looked away and her voice slipped into a murmur. "I have to come with you, to pay my debt to you. If you weren't such a Bantha brain you'd see that."

"You don't owe me anything!" Revan whispered, settling on the grass and feeling the sun's warmth seep into him from the ground. "Really Mission, You've paid any debt a hundred times over."

"Not to me," She turned to him and her face creased slightly into a sad smile. "I was nothing more than a gutter urchin, until you came along. If you'd not come and saved me then Zaalbar would be in some Czerka slave pen and I'd be a dancer, or worse. Instead I have friends, family almost, and I've been involved in, like, _big_ stuff. I owe this all to you, I owe you my life!"

She sat back and Revan reached out to squeeze her shoulder, but she surprised him by throwing herself into his chest. "You have no idea how much you change people's lives. One minute I, like, had nothing and now I do. So, I'm coming with ya, no matter how young I am or what may happen." She looked up at him with concern and her voice dropped to a whisper. "I know why you've been avoiding me an all of us, I worked it out the second day. That message was aimed at, like, you and anyone travelling with ya."

"Yes it was, but what about it?"

"So, you've been having nightmares! I hear ya on the Hawk, s'like Malak telling you that you were Revan once. Now I hear my name, Juhani... Bastila's all screamed by you now and again as ya thrash. Man, the number of times I've given ya a sedative to calm you down."

"Mission." Revan whispered, trying not to shiver as he recalled her dead face, slumped with Bastila and his other friends, as something laughed with delight. "That's why I want you at least to stay, one less person to worry about."

"So, you'd leave me here to worry as much as you do, dream the same dreams as you do." She looked up at him and shook her head. "I won't be helpless like that Rev! So, I'm coming with you, end of, like, story."

"No, you can't." He whispered. "Please, stay here where it's safe."

Mission slid off his lap and crouched in front of him. "You know Zaalbar swore a life debt to ya?" Revan nodded. "Well, you understand what it means?"

"Of course," Revan looked at her with a frown and suddenly paled as she slowly began to kneel in front of him. Desperate, he lunged forwards to stop her, but she danced out his way. "No, please don't Mish. Please, I want you to stay here. Don't do it, please!"

"I've told you and the others enough times Rev, I'm not a kid anymore. You saved me on Taris and now," She dropped to her knees quickly and bowed her head. "I swear to the very Force that you follow this pledge. I will, like, swear my life bonded to yours until I have paid you back for saving mine, for giving me all this. Until that time, until I and you have both agreed I've like paid my debt, I will always be by your side."

"No," Revan whispered and Mission smiled at him, her eyes gleaming.

"S' too late Rev. The life bond I swore is kinda diff to the Wookies, but the Force knows I pledged it. I'm no kid, and now I get to fulfil my vow, no matter what. I'm not letting any 'Brotherhood' Sith Jedi hurt you while I'm still breathing!"

"Damn you," Revan groaned and Mission crouched next to him as he grappled with what she'd just done. The thought of someone so young sacrificing her life for him, the ex dark lord of the Sith, was horrifying. Revan sighed and shook his head, holding the tears back as her young face stared at him with such terrifying innocence. "Why couldn't you just stay here, where it's safe, where I know you'll be alright? Now I have to worry about you as much as myself and the others, let alone Bastila."

"I can look after myself, Revan," Mission murmured and she slid next to him once more on the grass. She wanted to reassure him that she'd made the right choice. "What about Bastila? You love her way more than me, so what you gonna do?" she smiled slightly. "I can't see her staying here, or on that ship she's on, knowing her lover is trying to track down those who wish to capture him."

"She's like you," Revan muttered and he looked up at her, misery on his face. "Stubborn. If I told her not to come, she'd just ignore me. If I tried to stop her... Well, she'd fight tooth and nail."

"Yeah, cause she loves ya!" Mission leaned back onto the grass. "Like ya little sister does! So, if you can't stop your girlfriend, you ain't stopping me. Sith spit, you haven't stopped me! Besides, the life debt is serious. Even if ya left me on Dantooine, I'd try and sneak aboard, you can't be everywhere at once until departure."

"And if I did?" He asked her, sighing at her innocent grin.

"Then I'd have, like, followed you with whatever I could buy, borrow or steal. You know I've got the skills Rev! I'd follow you on planets as close as ya own shadow and you wouldn't stop me no matter what. At least this way you can keep an eye on little old me, yeah?" She grinned.

Revan actually smiled at that, and at the determined tone Mission had adopted. He couldn't break, reverse or alter the life debt that she'd sworn. If he rejected her, it would be a stain on her soul that nothing would wash away. He knew that from the memories the council had given him and from his own private discussions with Zaalbar about what he had sworn in the Taris sewers. Mission had to come with him now, even if he still felt she was too young. He sighed, She'd got her own way again, like she always did. Hot headed and stubborn, and he loved her very much.

"Mission?" He gently questioned and she turned on the grass to stare at him, her lekku quivering slightly on the grass. "Thank you... for believing in me, even now."

"Always, Rev, always." She murmured, staring up at the sky once more. Revan watched her for a few minutes and then slowly rose to his feet. He turned to the enclave and slowly walked back to its quiet and serene architecture. As his footfalls fell on the permacrete pathway, his mind whiled in thought. He shuddered at the way things were taking shape.

"_Bastila, I need you now, more than ever_." He thought with longing. "_I need your advice, so hurry my love... please_."

Juhani's quarters.

Juhani, her mind trapped in dreams, tossed and turned on her soft bed. The sheet that covered her had wrapped itself around her body in a tight knot and sweat trickled from her fur as she fought an intangible foe. Her mouth opened slightly and she snarled in warning as her eyes fluttered under her closed eyelids.

_She was running, from something hostile to only her. Every time she turned to see it, it was always right behind her. Panic and fear coursed through her as she ran away from it's threatening appearance. Odd, as she had no memory as to what it looked like. _

_ As she ran it's hot breath snarled into the back of her neck, making her wince and try to run even faster. The ground was constantly uneven and seemed to shift. One second it was razor sharp grass, that gave way to sand, brambles, tree roots. She stumbled and felt a pain shoot into her leg as her ankle twisted. Unable to run, she turned to see a huge black shapeless mass bearing down on her. As she screamed, it slammed into her and she felt her very being fill with ice-cold terror._ _As the cold torrent swept through her, she began to shiver and shake, her heart beating so fast it felt as if it wanted to burst from her and run. Her breath escaped her and she lay shuddering on the dirt floor. Suddenly, she felt a hand reach out to grasp her._

Juhani sat up in bed, the sweat drenching her skin making the sheets clammy and cold. She let out an uncharacteristic cry and lay shuddering, curled in a foetal position on the soft covers. The mane across the back of her neck sprang into a huge comb of fur and she growled as threateningly as possible, her wild eyes running around her room, searching for any intruders. Finding none, her bristling mane settled and her panting, feral, breathing slowed to a more normal rate.

With a final flick of her gaze around the dark room, she slapped the controls against the window and its polarised plastiglass slowly began to clear once more. The bright Dantooine sunshine flittered into the room, its afternoon glare lighting up the plain furnishings and banishing the remains of Juhani's fears with the shadows.

"_Fool,_" she berated herself as shame washed over her. "_It was only a dream. Do warriors flinch at their own shadow? Besides, Jedi do not, should not, succumb to emotion. I should be calm, passive and at peace with myself_!"

She flushed, as she realised that being angry with herself was also something a Jedi should not feel. With a sigh, she inwardly cursed her short temper and closed her eyes, determined to rein it in, as she always did.

"There is no emotion, there is only peace." She chanted quietly, feeling the calming words soothe her. "There is no passion, there is serenity."

As her mind settled slowly, Juhani began to ponder the reason for the dream. Usually, especially after her time in the shadow of the darkside, she had dreamed terrible nightmares. However, these had always been her striking her friends, colleagues and.... lovers down, laughing as their blood drenched her fur in torrents. She had woken from them screaming more than once.

Once, to her embarrassment, she had found Mission's eyes staring at her in the darkness from across the room. Slowly, the young Twi'lek had walked across to her and sat on the end f the bunk where Juhani lay trembling slightly. She'd reached out and slowly stroked her arm, pausing only for a few seconds when it had flinched as though struck, until she had stopped quivering and felt shame slip into her.

"_You're as bad as Revan sometimes_." Mission had whispered to her in the low light of the crew annex. "_Is it something to do with being a Jedi? Or your fall, the nightmares_?"

Juhani hadn't been able to give her an answer back then and even now she found it hard to tell the difference between a dream and a vision. She prayed to the Force that her dreams of her striking those she cared for down, where just that, dreams. This one, this had felt... different. Neither a dream, nor a vision, but something else and that scared her. The fear that had slammed into her, covered her with icy darkness, had not been hers... it had felt external, almost given, sensed from someone.

With a shrug she closed her eyes once more and attempted to slip into a deeper meditative state.

"_To feel something such as that, to have more than just a sense but to experience such things, I would have to have a special link to another Jedi such as Revan and Bastila formed_." She sighed and felt her meditation dip further into the calm ripples of the Force. "_I do not have such a bond, only Belaya would have possibly been my bond mate. So, this must have been nothing more than a nightmare..."_

Slowly her mind slipped to the matters of the day that still remained. She would have to eat soon, then go and see if Revan was around, she needed to speak to him. Then she would check on Yuthura and see if the healers had done their work.

Her mind slowly quietened and she felt the Force flow around her. Its presence soothed and whispered to her very soul, she was one with it and it her. Juhani felt the warmth of the light side slide around her and her breathing slowed to a bare minimum.

"_Deeper, I must go deeper_." Dreamily, she floated in its grasp. "_I have to find the centre point. There I can mediate, be one with the Force in all things_."

A sudden banging on her door made her meditative state crumble into confusion and she looked up in shocked disorientation. Her legs unfurled and her hands had grasped her sabre before she had a chance to fully recover. With a shiver, Juhani pulled herself together and stared cautiously at the door. The banging began again and Juhani's eyes widened as the door itself, plasteel, shook under the blows it was receiving, she wondered what could make someone so desperate as to bang a door that hard.

Slowly, she slid off the bed and walked up to the door. Readying herself for any attack, Juhani pressed the door release and the metal slid to one side. There, standing in dishevelled terror, was Yuthura, her hands bruised from where she had pounded the lock. As her wild eyes fixed on Juhani's face, she let out a gasp of relief and scuttled behind the astonished Cathar.

"Keep them away! Keep them!" Yuthura whispered, frightened and Juhani tried to turn, only to have Yuthura grip her shoulders and force her to stare at the door. "NO, they want to hurt me! Please, keep them back!"

"No one will harm you in the enclave," Juhani softly murmured backwards. "The Sith cannot gain access to the academy, all the Jedi Masters would feel their presence. Yuthura, please, come with m..."

A sudden commotion made Juhani bring her hilt into a more offensive stance as Yuthura whimpered and backed away to hide in the refresher. "No!"

"It will be alright." Juhani assured her, cursing her restrained tone of voice, something her rigid emotional control, when among others, always seemed to cause. "No one will harm you."

She narrowed her eyes as three healers ran up to her rooms doorway and stood panting, and surprised to see her with her sabre hilt prominent, in the corridor. The most senior, a Jedi Juhani had learned was called Tsenfre, bowed to her.

"Sorry Knight Juhani, but have you seen Yuthura Ban?" He managed, slowly getting his breath back. "We were about to give her a sedative and take her up to the operating room, but she attacked us and ran off screaming."

"I see," Juhani glanced at the bathroom door. "Tell me, you understood that in her disturbed state, she would probably see that as an attack. So, why did you not call me?"

"I'm sorry," Tsenfre replied softly. "We did not realise just how dangerous she is."

"Dangerous?" Juhani felt her voice rise and she frowned in mild surprise. Clearing it, she looked in his eyes and slipped her hilt onto her belt. "She is not dangerous, Healer Tsenfre, she is in need of help. Consider that the people who assaulted her in that Sith slavery bar probably used sedatives, hypo's, even possibly the ancient needle devices to inject Force knows what into her. Did you ask her, explain what you wanted to give her in a calm and quiet way?"

"I, well that is... we," He crumbled under her gaze. "Well, no. I apologise Knight Juhani. I should have been far gentler. It's just that the mind healers from Coruscant have finally arrived. I thought it prudent to have Yuthura ready for them in the operating area."

Juhani raised an eyebrow while inside relief poured through her. "They are here?"

"Oh yes, Master Ivenkia told me that they had arrived about an hour ago. They have been preparing themselves with some deep meditation and requested that Yuthura be prepared for their healing attempt. I thought a mild sedative would help her cope."

"Well, I suggest I come with you," Juhani said softly, aiming her voice more at the refresher than Tsenfre. "I will come with you, and Yuthura, to keep her safe and calm. I would also like to meet the healers the council on Coruscant have sent."

"Oh yes," Tsenfre enthused. "I hear that Jedi Fara and Jazir are the top mental healers in the galaxy. They specialise in Force attacks, so I suppose that gives Jedi Ban the best chance of recovery."

Juhani nodded and sighed. "Well, I suppose we had better not keep them waiting."

"Well, have you seen Yuthura Ban, Master Juhani?" He asked her, a slight blush on his face. "I really need your help."

"I have," Juhani murmured and turned to the refresher door. "Yuthura, come out, they are here to help you."

Slowly, the purple Twi'lek's head slid round the door, her eyes wide and her entire body stance poised to run. She licked her lips at the sight of the three healers and Juhani and glanced at Tsenfre with fear. "They want to hurt me, stick me."

"Not while I am with you," Juhani assured her. "There are people here now who can help you, heal you. So, will you trust me, come with me?" She held out a hand and Yuthura paused for a second before sliding her smooth, yet slightly scarred, one into Juhani's open grip.

"Will they help me?" Yuthura whispered, glancing around her in confusion. She sniffed suddenly and all thoughts of flight left her face. She inhaled once more and laughed. "Mmmm, spicy!"

Juhani felt a blush creep up her skin, hidden thankfully by her fur. "I had a shower." She murmured to the three Jedi in the corridor, as she tightened her grip and began to pull Yuthura gently out of her room.

The Twi'lek gave Tsenfre one last worried glance, that he returned with a small bow and gentle smile, and followed her Cathar protector down the corridor. As they walked, Juhani glanced down to see that she was barefoot and wearing only the Medi-bay dress that had been slipped onto her upon her arrival.

"That was foolish." She murmured and Yuthura's unfocused eyes glanced at her. "No shoes and little clothing, you could have caught hypothermia."

"In this heat?" Tsenfre muttered, an embarrassed expression crossing his face as Juhani flashed a reproachful look at him. "Sorry."

"Will I remember my name?" Yuthura asked suddenly and Juhani shuddered. Her voice had once more dropped into the childlike sing song tone. "I want to know who I am, what I did to be hurt so much."

"_Nothing, except realise the path you had taken led to destruction, as I did_." Juhani thought slowly. "_Why do I care so much about you? Is it because I am a Jedi and care for all things, Belaya's memory or do I.. I just like you._" She shrugged, it was something she did not want to think about. "_Or face anyway_." The feral part of her, the passion... laughed silently.

With her thoughts whirling around her, Juhani escorted her Quartet of Jedi down the main pathways and into the Enclaves newly constructed Medical wing. It had been built, as she and Quatra had discovered, with money donated by the Sandrels and the Matales, with thanks.

"Revan shows that a single Jedi can make a difference." Quatra had murmured to her, admiring the clean, freshly painted corridors and rooms with approval.

Now, as Juhani once more stepped into the warmly painted wing, she had to agree. Yuthura calmed visibly at the clean, brightly-lit corridor and fresh breeze that slipped past the many windows set into the wall. Outside, Juhani could see the sun beginning to slip into a orange hue, it was drawing to late afternoon.

"This way Knight Juhani, Jedi Yuthura." Tsenfre bowed and extended a hand. "They are waiting for us in operating theatre two, I understand. Would you please follow me?"

Juhani nodded, while Yuthura shivered at him. Gently, she pulled the Twi'lek with her along the same fresh corridors, smiling slightly as many other healers softly said hello to Yuthura and she nodded jerkily in response. It seemed that the majority of the people in the Medical wing had not scared her. Eventually they came to a set of double doors and Tsenfre gently reached out to Yuthura.

"I should take her in knight Juhani." He murmured. "You should really wait out here, it would be best I think."

Yuthura's head snapped round and she whimpered in horror. Juhani watched in shock as she prodded him in the chest and screamed into his face. "NO!"

Tsenfre fell back, his face white, and Juhani gripped Yuthura's hand tightly, trying to get the Twi'lek to focus on her once more. Yuthura ignored the tugging, and continued to yell.

"No, no, no, no, no!" She poked him with each word and the healer's face was pained, her fingernails were sharp and his robe only provided a little protection. "You want to hurt me!"

"Yuthura!" A familiar voice echoed down the corridor and each person's face turned to look in its direction. Revan stood in the corridor and smiled at her dazed expression. "Come now, they're trying to help you."

Yuthura stared at him for a few moments and to Juhani's relief stepped away from the nervous Jedi healer. She walked up to Revan and tilted her head. "They want to help me, so they say... do I trust them?"

Suddenly her head was drawn down to stare at Star Forge tunic he wore. Slowly she reached out in fascination and began to stroke the fabric. Revan gently took her hands and shook her slightly. Yuthura glanced up. "You trust me?" She nodded jerkily. "You trust Juhani?" Again she nodded, slightly more enthusiastically Revan noted. "Then trust us both and go with them. I promise, one of us will be with you at all times."

Yuthura stared and turned to Juhani. "You're hungry." She stated and Juhani's eyes widened in surprise. "Revan here, you need food."

The doors to the operating room swung open and two Jedi walked out. One of them glanced around them and smiled at the sight of the purple Twi'lek grasping Revan's hand.

"Ah, Yuthura Ban," She spoke quietly, softly and Yuthura nodded jerkily. "How are you?"

"They tried to hurt me," Yuthura pointed at the healers with a quivering finger. "But the furry saved me again."

Juhani felt another blush coming and fought it down with her emotional controls as all the eyes slid to the only fur covered person in the room. She coughed and glanced over at Revan. His amused grin didn't help and she sighed.

"She seems to call me that." Was all she could muster.

"Allow me to introduce myself," The female healer spoke up, her face soft and confident. "My Name is Healer Fara, my associate, Jedi Jazir, is finishing the preparations in the operating room."

"Will you be actually doing any operating?" Revan asked her and the Healer shook her head.

"No, we chose this room simply as it is big enough to accommodate all three of us comfortably. If we used any room smaller than this it would be uncomfortable for the patient." Fara smiled at Yuthura, who stared suspiciously at her. "Hello."

"I don't know you..." Yuthura muttered, gripping Revan's arm and glancing at Juhani. "Do I trust you? Should I run?"

"I hope not," Fara laughed and bowed deeply in front of the Twi'lek. Revan was impressed. He felt Yuthura's arm loosen from his, and the Twi'lek giggled. "I'm here to help you Jedi Ban. With our help, I have every hope you will be back to normal as quickly as possible."

"I want to be a Jedi." Yuthura stated to her, a glimmer of a grin on her face.

"Well, if you trust me, would you come with me?" Fara asked quietly, holding out her hand. Yuthura reached out, paused and glanced at Juhani's calm face. Whatever she saw there, let her slide her hand into Fara's. "Now, we have to help you place the pieces of your mind back together."

The Jedi's voice faded as the two walked slowly through the double doors. Juhani caught the heady aroma of rare spices and oils and she caught a tiny glimpse of an elderly, white haired Jedi kneeling on a soft mat in front of a decorated head dress.

As the doors quietly slid closed, the Dantooine healers bowed and left Juhani and Revan alone in the corridor. Revan glanced at Juhani, who had continued to stare at the closed doors, and reached out to her. As he placed a hand on her tunic, she jumped slightly.

"Revan, I, I apologise." She flustered, and Revan watched the hair on her neck rise slightly. "I... I hate to say this but, I worry for her."

"You mean Yuthura?" Revan asked her and she nodded. He decided to push slightly, to bring what worried her into the open. "Why? I'm sure the procedure will be a success."

"I wish I knew," She murmured and Revan's eyes widened. "I thought it was because she saved Belaya. Now, although it is still partly because of that, I find myself wondering if that is the only reason..."

"I see," Revan watched her blush and he sighed. "So, why do you care so much for her?"

"I don't know," Juhani whispered. "Possibly, possibly because she reminds me of myself, before you rescued me from my own foolish path."

"Ah," Revan murmured, while part of him wondered if even that was the only reason. "So, you feel you can save her from the darkness?"

"Well, maybe, if the mediation works. I have to help her cope." She looked away. "I... I checked into Yuthura's old Master."

Revan felt his heart sink at her tone. "The one who welcomed her back?"

"Yes," Juhani sighed and looked at Revan intently in the dark. "Please, keep this to yourself until I can decide how to break it, but he died shortly after they escaped the enclave."

"How?"

"He was part of a group chased by Sith fighters. There was a battle and he was in the wrong section of the ship when one of the fighters managed to cause a hull breach."

Revan groaned and glanced at the closed doors. "I think you're right Juhani, she will need you to help her stay on the right path."

As Revan watched her nod curtly, he frowned in thought. "_She may also need you as someone to talk to_." They both had a similar past, except Juhani had been far luckier that Yuthura in that she managed to escape. Revan could still remember the haunted way the purple Twi'lek had briefly touched her past, the pain in her voice no matter how vague the details. "_Someone to just... listen and understand_."

"I... I wonder how similar our pasts were," Juhani asked him quietly, mirroring his thoughts. "She grew up in squalor, was enslaved, was tortured. I, I wonder if she would talk to me."

"Steady Juhani," Revan cautioned and she frowned. "Although I'm sure she would welcome any assistance you could give her to walk the light path, we're getting ahead of ourselves."

"In what way?" Juhani asked him, bristling ever so slightly. "You know me, Revan. You know me far better than anyone else, except possibly Quatra. I would never force her to talk to me about that!"

Revan held up a hand. "No, no. I simply meant that there is a very slim chance that she may have a shattered mind for the rest of her life. What would you do then?"

Juhani looked away. "I... I would come with you regardless," She turned to him and bowed ever so slightly. "I will accompany you on this mission and any other that you would require assistance. I would follow at your request to the heart of Korriban. I trust you, owe you my life, my new friends and my status in the Jedi."

Revan sighed. This was rapidly heading towards the same discussion he had previously had with Mission. Looking at her face, he nodded.

"I know, and I thank you. However, have you considered that it might be better for you to stay here?" Revan watched her eyes flicker slightly and rushed out the rest. "Not that I wouldn't need you, I do. I, well I just feel that you've been through so much. Fought the darkside, helped me resist the lure myself, proved yourself a true Jedi and aided me to save Bastila and defeat Malak. That's quite a resume and I think you deserve some time off to reflect, mediate and relax."

"While you and all the others fly off to face those dark Jedi? You would expect me to relax, to be able to mediate while I imagine you fighting the Brotherhood?" Juhani shook her head. "No, Revan, I will come with you. It is my choice, my life and I will decide whose hands to place it in, who I will defend and possibly give my life up for." She reached out and her face was serious. "Your Jedi team saved me on Taris all those years ago, you saved me from the darkside, stopped me from giving in to Xor and you gave me the life I now lead."

"What are you saying?" Revan murmured, blushing at her conviction.

"I... I know this may sound foolish, and if you do not wish it I will understand. However, I must say it." Juhani glanced around quickly and then turned back to Revan with a serious expression. "I would call you brother, in spirit and in name."

Revan felt his world shake for the second time in one day." Juhani..."

"Please, Revan, try to understand." She reached out and Revan felt a soft hand grip his arm for support. Considering his own legs felt weaker than ever, he thought it was a bad idea. "I owe you everything I am, Jedi and warrior for the light. So, I give you my loyalty totally, brother."

Revan's face slipped into disbelief and Juhani suddenly hissed in Carthari. He listened to the lilting language as she almost sang the words quietly into the empty corridor. "What did you say?"

"You do not comprehend Cathari?" Juhani asked him with a small smile. "I simply called you my brother, in all things."

"Juhani...."

"No words are needed, and this changes nothing." Juhani assured him. "I feel you have done everything a brother would do for me, and I wish to do the same for you. I will join you on this quest, and we will succeed."

Revan wanted to tell her that he would feel better if she stayed in the enclave, but the thought of Misson's response stopped him. It would be futile, as the young Twi'lek had said, and in Juhani's eyes, would insult her. He sighed and shook her slightly, causing the Cathar to give a genuine smile in response.

Suddenly, the double doors slipped open and Fara walked out once more into the corridor. As the doors swung open, the two Jedi caught a glimpse of Jazir still kneeling, but now he kneeled in front of Yuthura. The Twi'lek was lying on the soft, ornately woven rug, the head-dress wrapped intricately around her head. Juhani, her eyes sharper than Revan's, could see the clear crystals forming part of it glowing with a inner fire as Jazir infused them with his powers. Before they could see any more details, especially the candles and incense that were placed around Yuthura, the doors slid shut. Fara, politely ignoring Revan and Juhani's deep interest in the room behind her, bowed to the two Jedi. After a gentle glance to ensure the doors had shut, she smiled at them.

"It has begun," She told them. "We must have total silence while myself and Jazir weave the meditative discipline. Once that has been completed, we will attempt to heal and repair the rifts in Yuthura ban's mind. I and my Master hope, we pray to the Force, that Yuthura will rejoin us partly along the way and assist to heal the rest."

"What are her chances?" Juhani asked the Jedi healer almost urgently. "Will you be able to heal her mind completely?"

"I hope so," Fara glanced at Revan, almost with embarrassment. "I have to say, she's not the most damaged mind I have ever been asked to aid healing."

"You mean me?" Revan stated flatly and Fara nodded.

"Yes. Revan, myself and Master Jazir are the best at what we do." Fara stated this quietly and Revan nodded. Fara was not saying this due to arrogant pride, she was stating the truth. "To be honest, I'm amazed you're standing upright, let alone walking, talking, using the Force and being a Jedi. I have never seen such a shattered mess as your mind was. Whatever the Dantooine council managed to do, I'm impressed and would like to meet the Jedi capable of such a feat."

"Maybe I can arrange that one day," Revan smiled at the thought of Bastila, his saviour, his lover and then turned his attention back to Fara. "You didn't help them then?"

"Well, no." Fara shifted uncomfortably. "I said you would die, regardless of any attempt I could make, and they escorted me away. I didn't even know that they had managed to heal you until I saw a holonet broadcast."

"Well, I hope that's not the case with Yuthura." Revan glanced at Juhani and smiled faintly, even as she frowned at Fara's discomfort. "I'm a special case, Master Fara. It was a lot of luck, if you belive in it, or the destiny of the Force if you don't. Regardless, I'm certain, after hearing about what I looked like after the attack, that I would have given myself up as a hopeless case as well." He grinned at her and Fara relaxed slightly. "So, I don't want you fretting over a choice you made Healer.

"I thank you for your concern Revan." Fara bowed once more and glanced oveer to Juhani. "You wish to ask me something, Knight Juhani?"

Caught unawares, Juhani shuffled slightly. "I wonder if you know what Yuthura's chances are of full recovery?"

"Umm, well I haven't seen her mind in the Force yet. But, considering how motive she is, the fact that she knows her name now and again and also, Jedi Revan, your report on her "locking" portions of her mind away... we have a good chance, say seventy to thirty of full recovery."

"That high?" Revan murmured and shook his head. "I'm glad, she deserves to have her life back."

"Well, she's strong." Fara glanced back at the doors. "If she hadn't been able to fight whatever it was they did, I'd have given her twenty to eighty of no recovery."

Juhani glanced at Fara and cleared her throat. "I wonder, would it be possible for me to come and observe the meditation?"

Fara frowned. "Why?"

"It is part of a vow I made to stay with her as much as possible, I owe her a rather large debt." Juhani watched Fara's face slip into a doubtful frown. "I merely wish to stay advised of her condition, Master healer."

"Well, you cannot enter the room now, Knight Juhani. Even I, with all my years of attuning my forces with Jazir, must be careful when I enter. If Jazir is disturbed, it could ruin the attempt. So, while you may stay outside Knight Juhani, you cannot enter the room. I'm sorry."

"I..." Juhani swallowed and finally nodded. "I understand Master Fara."

Revan glanced across at Juhani and frowned. He could feel his friends' exhaustion, and Revan wondered how long Juhani had been fighting her own need for sleep and for food. Her sudden confession that she saw him as a surrogate brother had hit him hard and he came to a decision.

"Look, why don't you go and get some food at the enclaves cantina and then take another nap, Juhani? I'll stay here and wait for Master Fara and Jazir to finish their meditation."

Juhani looked uncertain, but all three Jedi could hear the grumble of her stomach and she blushed. "I... I would be grateful Revan, thank you."

Revan smiled. "It's no problem Juhani, go on get out of here. If anything happens, I'll let you know as soon as Fara tells me." He laid a hand on her shoulder. "Anything for a friend"

Juhani smiled awkwardly, yet she placed her hand on Revan's, hesitantly. "Once Yuthura is recovered, I will follow you, I promise."

"Go on." Revan urged. Nodding, Juhani turned and walked down the corridor without a second glance, she trusted him completely. With a shake of his head, Revan glanced around for a seat but finding none sighed and leaned against the wall.

"That Jedi has far too much emotion," Fara murmured. "I hear most Cathar do. She will battle it for her entire life."

"Perhaps she will fight the darker side of her emotions, yes." Revan answered quietly. "But, unlike other Jedi, I believe that there is nothing wrong feeling the more positive ones. They remind us of what we fight for."

"Hmmm, interesting." Fara smiled at Revan and stepped back. "I regret that I must assist Jazir now. To provide the support Yuthura's mind needs right now, will require both of us. You're welcome to stay outside though."

"Thanks, and I will." Revan bowed as she did and he watched her step towards the doors and gently open them. As she stepped through, Revan settled on the floor of the corridor and glanced around. The afternoon sunlight streamed into the corridor and he sighed. It would be a few hours or so until Bastila would arrive, according to Vandar. He missed her, terribly, and with all that was going on he wanted to bath in the simple sweet scents and presence that made her who she was. Still, he'd made a promise to Juhani, so if Bastila arrived, he hoped she would understand. Settling back, he began to meditate, hoping that Yuthura would fight to come back to them.


	19. Revenant:chapter4:part4

Part 4.

Enclave cantina.

Juhani sat alone on a table in the corner of the vast hall that made up the Jedi enclave cantina. The building was new and quite impressive. Gone was the far smaller hall that she remembered from the original enclave. Instead, to keep up with the vast numbers of visitors, the hall was huge. Stuffed with tables, chairs and the scents of food, drink suitable for the various species of many planets, it should have been noisy. However, as Juhani looked around she sighed in relief. The cantina was very quiet this afternoon as the Jedi who occupied most of the tables, chatted quietly.

Her meal had taken her twenty or thirty minutes to eat. She'd been deliberately slow in consuming it, an attempt to resist the urge she felt to head back to the medical wing and wait with Revan.

"_I try so hard, and yet my passion for things, all things, remains_." Her mind ran slowly as she stared at her Caffa mug. In it's deep depths she looked for a reason, an answer as to why she cared so much for Yuthura. "_Why lie to myself any longer? I care about her because I find her attractive_."

She sighed and shook her head. "_I know where that path leads. I left Belaya when I felt my desire, my attraction for Quatra, and I almost struck her down when she rejected me_." Juhani sipped the steaming drink and stared into it once more. "_Passion, attraction... love, are too dangerous for me. I have to repress my feelings, my attraction for Yuthura. I will aid her, help her, but I can't get involved, I mustn't_."

It had amazed her, that Revan and Bastila had formed a love so tight, so powerful, that it had broken the darkside's hold on Bastila, had broken any attempt for it to claim Revan once more. Their love was pure, strong, governed by their minds as well a their hearts. Juhani felt certain that should the worst happen, the survivor would honour the fallen by living as they had always done, or she hoped so. The bond was as much a mystery to her as the Jedi it united, and it seemed that it had taken their love to a next level. Juhani sighed... she envied them, slightly.

"_Which is a negative emotion_." She thought with dry sarcasm. "_An emotion I should not have because I am a Jedi. It seems I still have a way to go, my anger and rage were only part of what I need to deal with for the rest of my life. I can add envy and desire to my list as well."_

She sipped the hot caffa once more, not really tasting it, more as something to do, to while away the time. Her eyes flickered across the plates that had comprised her meal and they came to a halt over one of the sweet pastries she had, with a moment's hesitation, bought herself. She didn't like desserts much, quite odd for one denied them in life. Yet, even now she found them sickly and not to her palate. So, why had she bought it?

"Because you thought it would delay you even more." She admitted reluctantly, quietly to the air. "Something to do, something to dwell over."

Picking up her fork, Juhani cut into the pastry and was about to consume the first tiny slice when she felt a presence behind her. Glancing up, she narrowed her eyes at the sight of Selyne, dressed in identical robes to her and looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"May I join you?" She asked and Juhani paused for a few seconds before inclining her head. Selyne sank down on to the opposite chair and stared at the pasty on Juhani's plate. "That's quite a bit indulgent Juhani."

"Indulgent?" Juhani slipped the pastry into her mouth and chewed slowly. "Possibly. However, when you have gone as a child without access to things such as these, they do appeal."

"I would class that as giving in to your emotions," Selyne sniffed ever so slightly and Juhani frowned. "I thought we Jedi were supposed to repress them?"

"We are and I do not think that enjoying a meal or enjoying life is wrong or something a Jedi should not do." Juhani drank her caffa as Selyne flushed slightly. "Now, was there a reason you have obviously sought me out?"

"Well, I've been talking to Quatra," Selyne muttered and she gazed at Juhani intently. "Is it true you tried to strike her down?"

"I... well, yes." Juhani felt uncomfortable, but Selyne was interested, she could tell. She sighed and clutched her caffa cup. "I fell in love... no that's not right, I became infatuated with Master Quatra. When she rejected me, I felt terrible. When she taunted me a few hours later during a sparring session I lost control and attacked her. I have a temper, Selyne, and Revan has helped me cope with it."

Selyne shook her head. "How did someone like you become a Jedi?" Juhani frowned and Selyne looked piously at her. "If I had done that to my Master? I would have expected no less than being expelled from the academy."

Juhani felt her hands clasp the caffa cup so tightly that her knuckles turned white. "_There is no emotion, only peace, there is no chaos, there is serenity_!" her mind repeated desperately as her temper flared.

"Really," Juhani managed. "Well, considering that I fell to the darkside and proceeded to try and kill the man who saved my life? I think I paid for my infatuation."

"You were lucky Revan could save you from the darkside," Selyne's lips thinned. "The dark is so insidious, it could have tainted you forever. You really do owe him everything."

"I am well aware of what I owe him," Juhani growled and then shuddered. She forced her emotional controls into place and controlled her temper, she was better than that. "Is there some point to all this?"

Selyne leaned back in her chair. "Well, as we're going to be working together for quite some time, I feel I should know some more about you."

Juhani nodded reluctantly, despite her desire to leave. "Very well. What is it you wish to know?"

"Well, more about you I suppose." Selyne smiled. "Quatra's told me some of your past. Your parents, how you came to Dantooine, your desire to be a Jedi. But, I still have a few questions that I'd like answered."

Ask." Juhani sighed, toying with her pastry once more.

"I was thinking back to the rescue mission on that Sith controlled planet. You went undercover as a slave for Quatra, yes?"

Juhani nodded, where was she going with this? "Yes I did, what of it?"

"Well, you would have had to prove that you and Mission were Slaves, yes? I mean, they wouldn't have let you two enter the chambers alone, unescorted, if you hadn't been slaves."

"No, they would have kept an eye on us." Juhani had a terrible feeling she knew where this was going and she stamped on her growing dislike for the Jedi opposite her. "So we had to act as slaves. Is there a reason you have brought this up, Selyne?"

"Well, I hear that slaves have a tattoo placed on their bodies." Selyne tilted her head at Juhani, who slowly slid another morsel of pastry into her mouth, ignoring Selyne's eyes. "That's right, yes?"

"It is." Juhani muttered, dreading the next question. Her fingers tightened on the fork.

"So, want to tell me how you got yours? Where it is?" Selyne urged. "Did you get it a long time before Revan's troops rescued you?"

Juhani felt her fur rise slightly in distaste at Selyne, not because of the questions themselves, but the way she was asking them. Juhani had never met such an arrogant and, and snooty Jedi before and it grated against her self-control.

"My Life story is not a tale to be told lightly! Especially to merely interest people!" She snapped, instantly regretting letting her temper escape. "It is a private and personal thing that I tell only to those who are closest to me!"

"Oh," Selyne managed to make her answer seem more disappointed that ashamed and Juhani felt a greater surge of dislike for this Jedi. Her fur, already raised along the back of her neck, began to rise down her spine.

"I suggest," Juhani managed. "That if you truly wish to know me better, to learn of my past, then next time you ask me you do so with a less demanding tone! I do not appreciate the way you have conducted this 'inquisition' Padawan Hirana!"

Selyne blushed slightly and stood. "I do apologise, Knight Juhani. I merely wished to know more about you."

"Then may I once more suggest that when we next meet and you wish to ask me about such things, that you step carefully. May I also suggest that if you wish to ask Mission such things, that you do not repeat the same mistakes as you have with me! Now, if that is all Selyne, I wish to finish my dessert and caffa. I need to return to Revan, as I doubt I will be able to sleep now."

"I apologise, Juhani." Selyne walked briskly away from the table and out of the cantina door.

Juhani sighed and after a few moments to recover her emotional balance, turned her attention to her meal once more. She would finish her pastry and caffa, then return to Revan. Hopefully by that time, the memories that Selyne had pulled up would fade once more.

Medical wing: Jedi Enclave, four hours later.

Revan looked up as Juhani walked back from the cantina. He immediately saw the unhappy expression on her face and slid to his feet.

"Juhani?" He asked, reaching out to touch her on the shoulder. "Juhani what's the matter?"

She looked at him with haunted eyes and shuddered. "Nothing, Revan. Nothing that you can help heal I promise you. I... I just had something happen that made me recall memories I... I thought I had dealt with."

"What? What happened at the Cantina? And why are you back so soon? Four hours sleep is not enough for anyone, even you." Revan shook her slightly. "You're pushing yourself too hard Ju. Looking after Yuthura is exhausting you, I can see it."

"I have a debt I must pay back." She muttered, looking away. "My health has not suffered that greatly. Besides, when we leave for the mission, it will doubtless require days in hyperspace, I can catch up on my sleep then."

"Well, at least tell me what happened to bring such pain into your eyes." Revan stared gently at her and Juhani flushed. "I can see it Juhani, the same pain when you saw Xor, when he taunted you."

"It is nothing!" She muttered, unable and unwilling to place Selyne's brash nature on his already burdened shoulders. "If anything, Revan, I promise I will keep an eye on what caused this."

"Well, alright." Revan shook his head. So strong and stubborn... like someone else he knew.

The doors to the operating room slid open suddenly and an exhausted looking Fara and Jazir, his grey hair, damp with sweat, walked slowly out of the room. Fara slumped against the wall and sighed in relief, Jazir merely stood, hunched slightly. The two Jedi watched the healers quietly and eventually Fara turned to gaze at them.

"I have never seen so much mental damage," She muttered, her face pale. "If the Sith didn't want to kill her, then they had a very good try. I have to say that I will never underestimate their ability to cause destruction ever again." Fara glanced back at the slightly ajar doors and sighed. "That woman is both powerful in the Force and will, and that is all that saved her."

Revan glanced at Juhani, and felt her own expression of relief match his. "You managed to heal her mind?"

"I hope so, I really do." Fara glanced at Jazir, who remained silent and yawned with exhaustion. "The fractures ran deep, into her very core. However, Yuthura told you the truth, Revan, there was a part of her that she managed to save, to lock away. It took us a long time to unlock it, but once we did, the pieces that they managed to shatter were easier to fit together."

Jazir snorted slightly at that and Fara glanced at him.

"Oh very well! Not easy as such, but they did form a pattern. Both Jazir and myself think we have been successful in repairing Yuthura's mind. However, it will take many hours for her mind to become active once more. Part of the process is to place the patient in a sort of coma, we have to shut down almost all of her thought processes. If we didn't, it would be like trying to sort a puzzle with pieces that shift and meld together."

"So, what will happen when she awakes?" Juhani sounded as worried as Revan felt himself. "Will she need assistance? Care? Drugs?"

"Well, if all has gone as it should do, Yuthura will eventually awaken and remember everything up to the time her mind broke. After that she will probably have some fragments of what happened, but it will be hard for her to make any use of them. She'll probably be startled to find herself back here. So, I would suggest that someone remain with her until she awakes, just to reassure her that she is safe."

"I will stay with her," Juhani told Fara and as Revan opened his mouth to object, she turned to him with a faint smile. "There are two reasons Revan. Firstly, I consider this part of my honour pledge and second, I saw a Republic shuttle touching down at the military section of the Dantooine spaceport. There are no other expected arrivals, except the Endar's Spirit."

"Bastila..." Revan murmured with delight, only to find Juhani smiling at him tenderly. "I... are you sure?"

"Yes," She nodded and placed a gentle furry hand on his arm. "Go and see your lover, your bond mate.... brother."

Revan smiled at her tender expression, and with a quick bow towards Fara and Jazir, ran off to the spaceport as quickly as possible. Juhani could feel his exhilaration in the Force and smiled at his exuberance, much better than the despondency that had been choking him recently. She turned to the two healers and sighed.

"So, what needs to be done, Master healers?" Fara slid to her feet and nodded.

"Well, lets get her back to her room first. I'll go though with you what has happened to our other patients when they awake. However, be warned, knight Juhani, Yuthura's mind was very badly damaged, and she was once a Sith. I have no idea how that will affect her waking, so I can only stress that you have any precautions you feel are necessary, just in case."

"Understood," Juhani murmured and bowed. "Shall we proceed?"

Hawk's landing bay.

Revan walked back towards the shadowy shape of the Hawk, his face dejected. He'd ran all the way to the starport and had spent precious moments arguing with the guard, in a peaceful way, that he should be let into the military section. By the time the guard had grudgingly stepped aside, it had been twenty precious minutes of wasted time.

Revan had run to the port that the diplomat he'd grabbed and flustered pointed him towards, only to find it empty. The few remaining people in the port had shrugged when he'd questioned them, what was another person in robes? He knew Bastila had begun to hide her lightsabre inside her robes, she 'd become far more discreet in her abilities since her fall to the darkside.

After a few more questions and an unbearable ten-minute wait in the main hall while he'd stretched his powers into the bond, only to find it hard to sense her at all, Revan had dejectedly left. Now he walked back to the Hawk, the exhaustion of the past few hours catching him up.

He stopped and glanced up at the dusk sky. The sun had dropped to the point where the brighter stars were almost visible and he stared at their twinkling glow, his mind aching with misery. He needed her advice, her presence... her.

"Bastila..." He whispered into the night sky, the scents of the various plants and flowers swirled around him and he inhaled. "I need you, and I need your advice more than ever..."

"_What about?_" A sudden quiet voice whispered inside his head and he staggered back in shock. She was here! "_Of course I am, my love... I am here_."

As he glanced around, a sudden movement next to the Hawk made him stare at the entrance ramp and his heart fluttered. The woman that made his life complete stood on the very tip of the ramp, half hidden by the shadows.

"Hello my love, have you missed me?" She whispered into the night sky and he felt his heart shudder.

"Bastila..." He breathed. It had only been a month, but to him it felt like an eternity that she'd been gone. Now she stood there, her right arm gently wrapped around one of the hydraulic rams of the ramp, while the other held her duffel bag limply, it's weight on the floor. He felt his spirits rise, soar and he licked his lips. "I'm sorry I missed you at the sta..."

Without any warning, her duffel bag fell to the floor with a gentle thud and before he could react, she was running as fast as her legs could carry her across the permacrete. Her clothing whirled behind her, and her dual ponytails, even longer since he had last seen them, trailing behind her like a wake.

Without a single noise, she launched herself at him and Revan grunted only a little as her entire boy weight landed onto his waist. He felt her smooth arms slide around his neck and her leg's scissor tightly around his waist. Her soft face, all smooth skin, deep eyes and fresh perfume hovered grinning in front of him until her lips slid onto his own with gentle pressure.

"_My love, my Revan_," Her mind's voice slid around him like a sweet intoxicating alcohol. "_My all, my everything_."

"_Bastila..."_ His own mind whispered back, as he hugged her tightly, felt the warmth of her body, the fullness of her lips, the taste of her, the smell of her skin. "_My all, my everything, my reason for living even now...."_

Slowly, they broke the kiss and Revan looked deeply into her eyes. "Hello, my little Kinrath pup..."

"Rowf.." She whispered and her face split into very un-Jedi like giggles. "Oh, I've missed you so much!"

"Me too, don't you ever go away again! At least, not for a few years. If we go," Revan kissed her gently and she shuddered slightly. "We go together from now on!"

"Fine by me..." She whispered and her lips slid to nuzzle his neck. "Although that may be a little impractical in the future. How the Force will you stop them splitting us up again? The universe needs us Revan."

"Well, it can have the two of us at once..." Revan slid his hands along to cup her smooth flanks. "So, to change the subject my little princess, how about a cup of caffa after your long journey?"

"Mmm, almost as if you have read my mind." Bastila sighed and moved to drop from Revan to walk back to the Hawk. Revan shifted suddenly, however, and she slid around his body with a gasp. She found herself in his arms, one set holding her back and the other cupping her thighs. "Wha... I can walk!"

"Indulge me..." Revan whispered, his eyes twinkling and Bastila sighed. "I've never carried you anywhere and I want to practice a bit, before I get to carry you to bed..."

Bastila felt a blush slip onto her face and she initially clamped down on her feelings of desire. However, as her mind repeated the new code she lived by, she realised that this was nothing to be ashamed of, nothing the older Jedi would have scolded her for, and she relaxed.

He was here, safe and sound. She breathed a sigh of relief and leaned her head against his chest, hearing the slow steady beat of the heart that loved her. It had been a bad dream, nothing more. She shuddered at the memory of the dark fluid as it covered her until she couldn't breath, remembered Revan's terrified cry's, not for himself, for her. Unable to help herself she hugged the man carrying her tightly, trying to banish the memory of the dream, or vision, with his warmth.

Revan felt her shivering and glanced down in concern. He tried to use the bond to find out what was wrong, but Bastila instinctively clamped down on what was upsetting her and he stopped pushing.

"Want to talk about it?" he murmured as he carried her up the ramp. She shook her head.

"No, because I don't know what it is that has upset me... what it means." She sighed and glanced up at him, her blue eyes dark. "It's probably nothing more than a bad dream. I... I'll tell you what upsets me tomorrow, I promise. For now?" She leaned into him again. "Just hold me."

Revan hugged her tighter as they walked into the main corridor of the Hawk. Revan for his part, slowly walked towards the main holotable of the ship and placed her gently onto its surface. Bastila sighed as she felt his hands slip from her, only to gasp as he gripped her chin and pulled her close for a kiss. She felt herself melt slightly as he broke it.

"Now, how about that Caffa?" Revan asked softly, a smile playing across his face. "You still take it medium sweet?"

"Heh, almost as if you read my mind..." Bastila grinned, glad that Revan had changed the subject so tactfully. "Oh, wait... you can read my mind."

"Only if you let me... otherwise I have to push." Revan whispered with a smile. "I don't like to push, I want you to let me in."

Bastila blushed, a deep red at his tone. "Oh, behave!" She muttered, trying not to laugh.

Revan grinned at her expression and turned to the synthesiser. As he fiddled with the controls to produce two cups of caffa, Bastila glanced around the Hawk with a smile of recall.

"I never thought I'd come to miss this scruffy ship..." She glanced towards the corridor that led to the rear bunks on the right and smiled wistfully. "Or what happened inside it."

Revan's fingers gripped the two mugs of caffa, and he turned to find Bastila staring almost dreamily at the rear of the ship. He smiled as he recalled that time as well, and clearing his throat, handed her the caffa gently as her head slid round once more. She took it with a nod of thanks and sipped gently as he wandered back to the food area and began to clear away the slight mess he'd caused.

"So, where is everyone?" She asked curiously.

"Juhani is with Yuthura at the moment, Mission is somewhere around. My new Padawan... Selyne is probably about as well.

"Selyne?" Bastila sipped her caffa and crooked her head. "That's the name of the young woman who ran up to you on the Hawk?"

"Mmm," Revan turned to her and stepped forwards, sliding into the chair opposite her. "So far, I'm very impressed. She'll be a hell of a Jedi, except..."

"Except what?"

"She has the same problem as Juhani, you and me did until we muddled through." Revan sighed and sipped his own caffa slowly. "She has... a lot of passion. Unlike you, Juhani, and myself, she hasn't found a way to deal with it yet. She can be stubborn and arrogant, hell she _is _stubborn and arrogant!"

"What will you do?" Bastila asked him, smiling inwardly at how... thoughtful he was being. She'd never seen him as a teacher. "How will you teach her control?"

"I have no idea." He smiled ironically. "How can I? After all, I've not been a great role model for controlling emotions."

"Revan, I have faith in you." Bastila slid to her feet and sat next to him. "I'm sure that Selyne just needs guidance. After all, the council would not have placed her with you unless they were assured of your abilities."

"It just seems so... rushed." Revan whispered at her and he shrugged. "Would you give a Padawan to me? Seriously?"

"Well," Bastila clutched her caffa cup and sighed. "I'm too biased to say no, but I see your point. I suppose you and I have to trust in the wisdom of the council."

"You always say that," He smiled faintly at her and it was her turn to shrug.

"So, why have Jolee, Carth and myself been called back to Dantooine?" She grinned. "I presume it's to do with you, or something you're involved with?"

She sipped her caffa again, only to gasp at the sudden, intense, pain that flowed along the bond from Revan. Her fingers tightened reflexively on the cup, and she stared at him in shock. She could feel, regret, fear and even despair rolling from him, for a reason that she couldn't fathom. Slowly, she reached out to touch his shoulder and he shivered.

"What is it?" She asked in shock. Revan, at first normal and almost cheerful had changed. He was worried, deeply worried. She reached into the bond and projected as soothing a feeling as she could, as her lips trembled in sympathy. "Revan, tell me. We promised each other, no more secrets."

"I... I... It's not a secret Bastila," Revan managed finally, his voice cracked. "I've been having nightmares recently, bad ones."

"Show me..." She whispered and with a gentle, almost cautious touch, she reached into his mind.

_Mission's dead eyes stared accusingly up her with a cold glassy gaze, a raw sabre burn running along her neck. Bastila felt sick at the sight of it, a livid red slash against the soft blue skin. She backed away from the lifeless corpse, a moan of horror in her throat. As she did so, her eyes flicked reluctantly to the armour that Mission wore. It was slashed and scarred in hundreds of places, some areas still smoking from the slightly glowing edges of the various rents. Bastila knew what weapon had caused that, she had done her own fair share of similar damage to Sith troopers. Leaning down, she gently closed the Twi'lek's eyes, hoping the young woman would find her way in the afterlife. With a sigh, Bastila glanced around once more._

_Juhani, a gaping wound in her chest, lay crumpled in the corner. Her fur was singed black... it smoked. Bastila moved forwards in a futile attempt to try and help her, but the odour of burning fur and the sickly sweet scent of burnt flesh repelled her. She kneeled down to stare at the Cathar and, shaking her head in regret, turned to the next familiar figure. _

_Jolee stared unseeing at the floor. Unsurprising, as his neck had been snapped by some great force. Bastila stared at his wizened old face and winced, he hadn't died easily if the expression left there was anything to go by._

_Carth's body lay slumped in the middle of the room, a pool of blood collected under him. Bastila knelt down and rolled the body of her pilot friend slowly to one side. Again, a sabre had caused the wound... the edges of the wound cauterised, leaving the blood to leak from the lurid red gash between them. She let him roll slowly back and sighed. _

_Revan had not been lying. This recalled nightmare was scaring her just as much as it had him. The question she needed to have answered was why he was dreaming about all his friends dying... and was she here?_

_A gentle sobbing echoed around the room, filling it with echoes. Bastila rose slowly, gazing around, and spying an open door. She walked towards it, the sobbing slowly growing louder as she approached. A sudden change in the texture of the metal plating under her feet made her glance down, and she felt her lips twist in disgust. Her boots were coated on the soles, by a thick dark red liquid... blood, congealing blood. She followed the sticky trail to another half-opened door, the lock burned and sparking, and peered round. _

_Revan lay kneeling on the floor, his trousers and boots coated in the same sticky blood as that covering the floor... tears rolling in a steady stream down his face. She stared at him and then to the body that he rocked gently in his lap. Bastila leaned forwards, as she could hear Revan murmuring words to the figure, words of encouragement. As she looked at the face of the figure held tightly in his grip, she gasped in horror. Her own face stared at her, pale and unmoving, the eyes glassy. Multiple sabre and sword wounds covered her body and from the way her head lolled, the neck was broken._

Shuddering, Bastila turned away from the image of death, her death and pulled herself from the vision. She felt the real world reassert itself, as the bond slipped back to it's usual quiet murmur. She stared at Revan. His cheerful temperament had been fragile, hiding something that gnawed at him, and now she knew why.

"Want to talk about it?" she murmured, her voice mimicking Revan's question from the Hawk's ramp. "You've been dreaming about us all dying, and you being left alone."

"Yes." Revan whispered, glancing across at her. "I've been having dreams like that since... since the message that Mission found on a dead dark Jedi. Every time I close my eyes I see them all like that!"

He sighed and sat next to her on the table. "I see... I see you, dead, staring at me. I... I can't allow that to happen to you Bastila, it would destroy me, make me turn to the darkside. It frightens me sometimes, how much I love you."

"I know what you mean," Bastila whispered into his ear. "But I have to understand if I'm going to help you. What did the message say to cause this? When I left, you were calm, composed. Now look at you."

Revan sighed and glancing at her weighed his options. She had a right to know what it was that worried him, what the message said, what it said about her. He couldn't. She deserved one night with him, one night where there was nothing painful between them.

"I... I really don't want to tell you," He muttered. "The council will explain it all in the morning."

"Oh no," Bastila shook her head and frowned. "That sounds like something I would have said, not too long ago. Spill, Revan, what did it say?"

Revan sighed and slowly, in a long and wearied voice, he told her word for word what the message had said. Bastila's face went from worry, to dismay and then to a suppressed shock at each sentence. After he had finished, she rose and began to turn the Caffa cup around in her palm as she walked.

"Now I see," She glanced back at him and smiled ever so faintly. "So, that's how the Sith view me now... a prize, the lover of Revan the betrayer. Well, at least I'm still worth something to them."

Revan slid to his feet and gripped her tightly. "Don't even joke about it. You know how much I care for you. This, business is all to do with me and only me." He sighed and hugged her tightly. "If... If I asked you to do something for me, would you do it?"

She looked at him and frowned. "That depends. What would you have me do?"

"I want you to stay here. I care far too much for you to be hurt, as you saw in that nightmare." He looked at her, saw the tightening of her lips. "Please, Bastila, stay here and be safe for me."

"No," She told him, and for the first time since her fall, her voice was hard. "I shall not abandon the man I love when he needs my help. Revan, I love you... the Force help me, I do. I cannot, and will not, abandon you now."

"Bastila..."

"Is this what you asked of the others?" She, almost, snapped at him and he nodded ever so slightly. "What were their reactions?"

"Quatra and Selyne ignored my request to stay and are coming with me, for better or worse. Juhani seems to see me as a brother she never had, and has pledged herself to me for all time. Canderous, from what I could pull from him at the Cantina, would consider my request to be frankly insulting. I began to ask him and he challenged me to a drinking contest to see if he would stay. I... I can't remember what happened, we were drinking Mandalorian Brandy, Force knows where he got it. I... well I woke up alone the next morning under the table. So I think, I presume I lost the bet and he's coming, no questions asked. Mission..." Revan's voice tailed off and Bastila felt his emotions flare slightly. "Mission, oh Sithspit Bastila, Mission swore a lifedebt to me."

"She did?" Bastila felt her eyes rise in surprise and Revan nodded. "Revan she's too young and isn't a Wookie!"

"I know," Revan snapped slightly and sat back, struggling to maintain his control. "I have no idea how she knew what to say, I suppose living with a Wookie gives her certain insights into their culture that we don't have. She was Zaalbar's surrogate family during his time on Taris, I suppose she knows that the right to pledge a lifedebt is every bit her right as Zaalbar's. If I try to stop her now, even leave her on Dantooine, she'll follow us. I... I hate myself for saying this, but I'd rather have her next to me, safe and possible, rather than running behind us and smack into any trouble we leave behind."

"Understandable." Bastila murmured.

"And then there's you, the woman I would give my life to protect." Revan sighed and sat down on the edge of the holotable once more. "I owe you everything I am, more even than that. Now, I find myself the target of a Sith fellowship and anyone who travels with me is a target as well. Worse, you Bastila for loving me are a target too, one that they seem eager to obtain. The whore of the betrayer, that's what they've called you." He stared at her face, yet it remained impassive, dismissive. "I know that the name has little interest for you, that you have no worries about what Sith call you. But, because you associate with me, they want you... Because you love me, they almost... desire you. You haven't seen the message yet my love heard her voice. I am frightened more than I was fighting Malak."

Bastila felt her hands tremble slightly at her former torturers name, but she didn't push her fear away, she confronted it and felt her hands steady. "Why? He could have destroyed all we hold dear."

"Yes, and that made it.... A mission for all of us to fight for." He looked at her weakly. "This time, it's all to do with me, a personal grudge. How can I ask you, Mission, Juhani or any of my friends to sacrifice themselves for this? If they catch us, defeat us, you don't have any idea what they have in store for them or yourself. I do, I've heard what they intend and it frightens me. Not for what they will do to me, but what they will do to you and the others."

"Revan, they follow you because they trust you." Bastila sighed at his miserable expression and shook her head. This was some homecoming. "I trust you and I always will. They believe that personal danger is worth it to help you, their friend. In Juhani's case its to assist the man who saved her life once, gave her the ability to fight her anger and become the Jedi she yearned to be. Mission knows you saved her life on Taris, tried to help her Brother and gave her the chance to make a difference. She sees you as the father she lost at such a young age. For myself," Bastila swallowed and getting up, walked over to Revan, slowly. "I would follow you into the heart of the Darkness itself, would fight any Sith who threatened you, would give my life to keep yours here. I love you that much, more."

"I know," Revan sighed and pulled her onto his lap. "That's why I knew you'd say no to me even before I asked. Personally, I think you're making a mistake. But then I would be too if you tried to stop me following you."

"I know," she smiled and nuzzled slowly into his neck. "I'm not making a mistake either, thank you. I know exactly what I am doing, so you'll just have to live with it."

"Yes, Bastila." Revan felt a smile play briefly across his lips but it was quickly dampened. "We'll never have any private time to ourselves will we? There's always something to ruin it."

She smiled. "I can wait, I _will _wait for as long as it takes."

Getting up, Bastila yanked him to his feet and began to pull him towards the Hawk's exit ramp. Revan frowned in puzzlement. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to take your mind off things." She told him. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" He asked her. "Look, Bastila, you only just got back from a tour of duty. You need some food, drink and rest. Are you listening to me."

"Oh yes," She smiled at him. "But I'm fine and would prefer to see the man I love a little happier. I can eat later."

Revan sighed and stopped resisting her pull. "Okay, but you still haven't told me where we're going."

"Well, I need to spar a little." Bastila turned to him and raised her eyebrows. "Fancy a chance to knock me down a peg or two?"

"What?" He looked at her in surprise and shook his head. "Bast..."

"Come on, what do you say?" Bastila yanked her lightsabre from her belt and gripped it tightly. "I bet I can take you in two rounds."

"Really," He felt himself rise to the bait. "We'll see my little kinraith pup, we'll see."

Laughing, she ran down the ramp and began to cross the courtyard, heading towards the training wing of the enclave. Revan watched her beautiful body slowly recede into the distance. Her laughter trickled slowly into a sense of fun, quivering into him from the bond. With a shrug, he began to run after her and slowly felt a smile return to his face.

"_I'm coming to get you_." He warned her and grinned. "_There is no escaping Revan_!"

"_Oh, I am so shaking in my boots_." She sent back.

Laughing, Revan ran across the courtyard and he too headed for the training wing.


	20. Revenant:chapter4:part5

Part 5.

Guest Quarters: Jedi Enclave.

The figure, clothed in a simple white medical robe, lay silently on the bed. Unmoving, she exhibited all the signs of being in a coma. The only movement in the darkened room was the rise and fall of the young Cathar Jedi asleep in a chair opposite the bed. The curtains were drawn back and the moon shone into the room, bathing the two figures in a silvery light. It would have been by this light, that someone in the room would have seen the bed-ridden figure lurch suddenly and start to shake.

Her eyes slid open and stared at the moon outside the window. With a sigh, the Twi'lek shifted slightly under the sheets, her head struggling to slide up from the pillow.

Groaning, she raised a trembling hand to her forehead and glanced slowly around the room. She seemed safe for now, wherever she was. The bed was comfortable and warm, the room was quiet and no alarming sounds came from the open window.

She glanced at the figure slumped slightly in the chair opposite her and stared. The young girl was covered in fur... bizarre. Still, she seemed unthreatening, asleep in the chair, her fingers curled tightly against the fabric, her chest rising and falling slowly. No, there was no threat there.

The Twi'lek sighed and fell back onto the pillows. She was weak, she felt as though someone had beaten her to within an inch of her life. Sighing quietly, she gazed once more at the figure on the chair.

"_How did I get here_?" She wondered, her face creasing in the dark. "_I... I remember... pain, lots of pain_." Her hand reached up to touch her left arm; the one she knew had long ago been broken. Now, there was no pain, no broken bones. How? "_What happened... to me_?"

She sat up suddenly, her body wavering as tired muscles tried to respond and her eyes were wide in the darkness. "Who am I...!?"

She ran her tongue over her lips and tried to stem the growing panic growing inside her. Looking around, she spied a tiny mirror on the bedside table and picked it up. Slowly she raised it to her face, and as her lips trembled, flicked it up to stare at the image it showed.

The face that stared back was pale, and drawn for some reason. She tilted her head to the left and right, a beautiful face she thought, but... it had seen unpleasant times. She stared at the purple skin, the dark lips and pale p eyes... Who was she? The tattoo's meant something, she knew that... but what? Something bad, she knew that much. The ones that covered her face made her feel shame. The others, they filled her with... regret. Why?

"I... I don't know who you are..." she whispered, touching the glass slowly. "What happened to us?"

"Yuthura...." A quiet, exotically accented, voice murmured and she looked over to the furry young woman in the chair. Her lips were dawn slightly in a faint smile and she sighed, obviously dreaming about something.

"Yuthura...." the Twi'lek whispered, raising a hand to touch her face once more. "Yuthura.... That, that's my name!"

A sudden thumping pain ripped into her and she fell back on the covers of the bed, her mouth open in a silent scream. Her eyes rolled back into her head, and the hand that had gripped the mirror let it fall onto the bedcover's as her fingers furled into a claw. Her head was on fire, a terrible ripping fire! Jerking on the bed, she felt her legs writhe, her breath come in shuddering gasps and her entire body flail in agony as the pain rammed itself like liquid down her spine.

"_What... what's happening to me_?" She managed to think, before a sudden slashing pain trailed across her shoulders and back... again and again and again. Her vision clouded and suddenly she felt the pain rip across her mind like fire.

_"Dance for me my little slave girl!" Omeesh laughed, his hands gently picking through the various delicacies on the platter in front of him. The huge Hutt nodded to the guard and he raised his energy whip once more. "I never told you to stop dancing for me..."_

_Yuthura groaned. She lay chained by her neck to a sense pole, her body covered in sweat, emphasising the tattoos of property, skill and level of sexual ability. Her feet, naked, had been ripped and burned by the various heat plates that the Hutt had installed beneath each sense pole, to keep the dancers spinning as much as possible. The sense poles themselves were chilled to ice, so that the dancers would always fumble as the freezing metal ravaged their hands. She was exhausted; having been dancing for ten hours as the Hutt had consumed each lavish platter of food in front of her. It was torture, total and utter torture for her._

_Omeesh watched her struggle to stand and nodded to the guard once more, his stumpy hand waving at him. The guard grinned and raising his lash brought it down on her back once more. Another streak of burning flesh joined the others, some half-healed, on her back. Yuthura fell to her knees once more, as Omeesh ripped another scream from her._

_"Dance for me!" Omeesh whispered, popping another of the delicacies into his huge mouth. His slimy tongue slid out of his mouth and ran lightly across his lips. "Unless you wish to indulge in... other activities?"_

_Yuthura felt her insides lurch, the memory of the last visit to her Masters bedchamber still raw in her mind, as were the cuff marks on her ankles and wrists. Shaking, she staggered to her feet and forced her exhausted thigh muscles around the sense pole once more._

_"Good, good... for that inconveniencing break, you shall receive fifty lashes." He watched her pause on the pole and then spin round it, her Lekku flying around her. "Now, show me how good you can be."_

In the dark of the room, Yuthura's body writhed, drenched in sweat and a whimper escaped her lips. "_Someone save me, please. Force, kill me... I beg of you_." Another spike of pain, and....

_"Yuthura, my love, you must do as he says..." Kara bathed her raw and scalded feet gently in the water that she'd pulled from the filthy slave quarters taps. "If you don't, he'll kill you...or worse."_

_"I know, but I couldn't dance anymore." Yuthura gazed at her lover, a human female she'd met about a year ago, with a weary sigh. "He picks on me, I don't know why."_

_"Because you are beautiful, skilled and exotically coloured for one of your species." Kara smiled slightly at her, before returning her attention to her feet. "I fear you will always be picked upon. Please, do as he says..."_

_"One day, I will escape," Yuthura glanced around the bare cell of her room, the filth and slime coating the walls and the threadbare mattress she slept on. "One day, you and I can live somewhere much better than this."_

_"Shhh, please." Kara glanced around the room and looked at her with a glimmer of fear. "What we do is punishable by death. Slaves cannot find security in each other's arms, especially two females."_

_"Unless that slug is watching," Yuthura growled. "If I ever get a chance, I will kill him!"_

_"Please, Yuthura... be silent!" Kara raised a hand to Yuthura's dark purple lips and softly pressed a finger against them. "I don't want to lose you!"_

_Yuthura raised her own hand to the finger and curled her hand around it. She'd never been interested in any of the guard's offers of 'companionship' unless they offered her food, or the smuggled in Kolto needles, in exchange. Even then, she'd felt it was a chore. When Kara had arrived, and had been hit on by the Gammorean guard, Yuthura had been amazed when she'd screamed abuse at it. It had been only her interference, her knowledge that he owed her for a past ride that had stopped Kara being raped. _

_The woman had thanked her, and Yuthura had found herself finding a growing interest. Now they were lovers, had been for months, and despite their terrible life, Yuthura had found something to keep her living, something to live for._

_"I love you Kara, you know that."_

Yuthura clutched at her skull and growled, drool flowing down her chin, as the agony, almost like red-hot needles, ran across her brain. She lurched as another memory hit her, felt tears stream down her face.

"No, oh Force _no_!"

_"Damn you Omeesh!" Yuthura screamed at her Master as the guard roughly threw her onto the floor in front of him. She raised her head to see the Hutt grinning at her. Her face was a mass of bruises and blood. Some trickled down her chin and she wiped it away. Her body had been flayed, her back thighs and stomach covered in hundreds of red hot, painful scars. _

_The guard kicked her and she fell into a kneeling position. Yuthura shivered, she knew what happened to Slaves that betrayed him, especially Twi'lek. The ones that she had seen had lost their Lekku. The precious limbs sliced from them with an ordinary blade, no anaesthetic. Then, Omeesh usually had them tortured to death. _

_"What do you want from me you slug!"_

_"Ah, Yuthura... my favourite little dance girl. I do apologise for what they have done to you... Well, no I don't actually. Your screams were lovely to hear. Almost as lovely as your illegal lover's."_

_ "What? Kara?" Yuthura shivered and stared at his gloating, slug face. "What... what have you done to her."_

_ "Well, I was waiting for you to come here." Omeesh smiled at her and waved his hand at one of the guards. Slowly, watching her face, he sipped at the large goblet of drink next to his arm. "Could I interest you in something to eat, while we wait? I do so enjoy your company..."_

_ "Kara, what have you done to her..." She stared at him and he smiled. "No, please."_

_ "Yuthura..." A voice croaked from across the room. Yuthura turned and screamed in horror, feeling tears run along the side of her face. "My love... I... I'm so sorry."_

_ Kara lay strapped to a repulsor equipped frame. Her body had been beaten to a pulp, her limbs broken. She stared at Yuthura with bloody eyes, and her face was full of suffering. Yuthura stared at her and then turned to Omeesh in horror._

_ "Why?"_

_ "Because I want to keep you my little slave pet. She on the other hand has no skills I deem really essential." Omeesh stared at her and then shrugged. "I'm going to give you a choice Yuthura...."_

_ He waved his hand nonchalantly and two guards appeared on either side of her. Both carried shock sticks which they jabbed into her sides simultaneously. Yuthura felt the energy buzz through her insides and she fell with a groan onto the cold hard floor. _

_ "Tsk, Drik? A little encouragement, so that she pays attention to me please?"_

_ The guard nodded and Yuthura managed to raise her head weakly as he walked across to Kara's prone form. With a whisper, Drik drew a small edged blade and slowly began to trail it across Kara's neck, a grin on his face. Finally, he pushed slightly too hard and a thin sliver of blood ran down Kara's already bruised and bleeding flesh._

_ Yuthura gazed at Kara's suffering eyes, willing her to live, and turned to Omeesh. His piggy eyes gazed at her with longing and amusement and she felt her stomach roll with anger... "I HATE you!!"_

_ "Now, don't be so hasty Yuthura," Omeesh cautioned, a scream of agony coming from Kara as Drik slapped her savagely across the face. "If you come willingly with me and submit to my bedchamber, and promise to _never_ do anything like this again, then I will have Kara killed quickly and with minimal pain. If you resist me, then I will have every inch of skin flayed from her and have kolto administered to keep her alive for as long as possible."_

_ Yuthura sobbed and collapsed, but her soul burned. "I HATE YOU!!"_

_ "Make your choice, little slave dancer. Choose." Omeesh began to laugh and Yuthura stared up at him with hatred, total hatred. When the guards next to him began to laugh as well, she growled, a thin bead of spittle trailed down her chin and she stood. Her eyes were dark and she felt something sit up and beg inside her soul._

_ "_Use me, little one. I give you the power to hurt them, kill them... do it NOW_!"_

_ She snarled and fixed her stare on the Hutts laughing eyes. Omeesh felt his amusement fade at her expression and he stared at her in sudden unease. She growled. "I will _NEVER_ submit to _YOU AGAIN_!"_

_ She reached for the begging side of her and felt something hammer itself into her mind. Her vision shifted, a blur of red and blue tinged the edge of her perception and she gasped at the change. She could feel each and every guard, feel Omeesh, his sudden suspicion, fear... Kara, her pain and suffering. It tore at her, fed the thing that had awoken in her breast and she felt a sudden knowledge slip into her._

_ "_Reach out, my little Twi'lek of vengeance. Feel their life-force, draw on it and feed on it... make their strength yours!"

_Reaching out, she wound threads of power between the guards, wrapped them around their hearts and souls until she was satisfied. Finally, she looked up and smiled at Omeesh._

_ "You cannot stop me, even if you think you can. Did you ever think that sooner or later justice would visit you?" She suggested. "These guards you have are an annoyance, nothing more. You and I Omeesh, we have unfinished business!"_

_She felt a sense of power flow through her. The guards all stopped laughing simultaneously and then began to shake. Omeesh glanced around and she tasted his sudden terror as they all collapsed as one, blood fountaining from their eyes, mouths and noses. They lay dying, and the various other people who bowed and scraped ran screaming from the throne room, leaving the Hutt all alone. His terrified eyes swivelled back to her and she grinned at him._

_ "Wait, I can offer you anything!" He began, but she cut him off with an unhinged laugh._

_ "I hate you Omeesh, and you will pay for what you've done to me, the slaves and Kara." She grinned and Omeesh let out a strangled cry as the blade from one of the dead guards shot from his belt and flew into her expecting hands. "As you can see, my gods will it!"_

_ "You were nothing without me!" Omeesh screamed in terror as she advanced and jumped lightly onto his throne. "I gave you food, a place to sleep!"_

_ "Tortured me, made me learn as many sexual practices as you wanted, tattooed me like a beast, denied me everything!" She flipped the blade onto his body, and the part of her that had killed the guards begged her to strike. "You've taken my freedom, and now you've taken the one thing I love!"_

_ "I'll give you anything, Slave Mistress status!" Omeesh's deep voice gurgled as her blade tip drew a tiny bread across his neck. "Forget Kara, you can sleep with all my slaves! What is it you want from me? What do you want me to do?"_

_"Die?" she suggested and, with a snarl, leapt onto his body. He screamed, his fingers reaching for the controls to activate the slaves suppression collars, devices that would kill them all by neural scrambling, but Yuthura swung the blade and cleaved his arm off in a fountain of green blood. _

_ Clutching the stump, Omeesh cried out as she walked up his huge bloated body and held the blade above her with a grin. His blood had coated her face, her arms, her entire body and she smiled at him crazily. With a final laugh, Yuthura slid the blade under his throat and held it there as realisation slipped into his piggy eyes. _

_ "Goodbye, Master!" She snarled and dragged it across his throat. Blood sprayed across the room, coating everything and Yuthura in a slick green fluid and she laughed uncontrollably. His death rattle filled the room and eventually the Hutt lay still. She stood over his body, letting the blood drip form her vibroblade, basking in the death and destruction she'd wrought on the creature that had made her life a pit of torture for so long._

_ "Yuthura..." Kara's faint voice echoed in the sudden silence and Yuthura glanced up to see her lover staring at her. "Please, come back to me..."_

_ Yuthura shuddered, realising what she'd done... although how remained a mystery. She staggered off the dead Hutt's body and fell onto the floor, exhaustion suddenly filling her. Finally, she reached the dying human female and unclamped her from the floating frame. _

_ Kara's body fell gently into her arms. The blood from her wounds spilling down the Twi'lek's skin in a steady flow._

_ "Yuthura, my love... wha, what was that?" She managed, blood trickling down her chin. "I... I want you to resist whatever it was you tapped into then. For my sake."_

_ "Kara..." Yuthura felt tears flow down her chin and she hugged her lover close. "I... I promise I'll try. We have to get out of here, the guards will soon come running when the others run past them, screaming."_

_ "You can escape my love," Kara smiled, only to wince and close her eyes. "As for me, Omeesh has lost after all, I'm dying."_

_ "No!" Yuthura moaned, burying her head in her lover's lap. "You, you can't!"_

_ "I can," Kara whispered. "That is the way of life. My life is over, yours is only beginning." _

_ A sudden thumping made them both glance over to the huge doors. Quickly, Yuthura ran across to the dead form of Omeesh and slapped the lockdown key on his chair. The vast bolts slammed into place, but even they were a temporary measure._

_ "Yuthura, run away from here. Run away... find somewhere to live. Enjoy life! Please, try to forget what happened here, settle down with someone and be happy."_

_ "I... I," Yuthura stared at Kara with a look of despair. "Please, don't leave me. I... I promise I'll try and live, try and forget what happened to me, but I will never forget you!"_

_"That's all I ask... that, and find someone to replace me." Kara smiled at the look of horror that passed over the Yuthura's face. "Look for peace Yuthura, peace and fulfilment." Kara coughed and she smiled at her. "One more thing, get me the gun from that guard over there."_

_Yuthura sobbed and shook her head. "No.... please."_

_ "Get it for me..." Kara urged, and Yuthura crawled over to the gun belt and picked it up. Handing it to her,_ _Yuthura stared at her. "Now, walk away from here... go, before any of the guards work out what's happened."_

_ "No...." _

_ "Go!" Kara moaned and, gasping at her broken arm forced the gun to point at her head. She smiled faintly at Yuthura and licked her lips. "See you in the afterlife, my love... live well. Now, go!"_

_Yuthura shuddered and stood, tears pouring down her face. She turned slowly and walked towards the exit of the throne room, her fingers gripping the stolen blade tightly. The echo of a single laser bolt ran around the throne room. She let out a cry of agony, knowing that the woman, who had kept her sane through all of Omeesh's cruel tortures, had herself succumbed. Never looking back, she ran from the throne room_.

Yuthura shuddered as great wrenching gasps yanked themselves from her lungs. She felt the hot wet tears streaming down her face at the memory of her past. So much pain! She had been a victim of the worst kind... cruel, intentional and deliberate pain.

Then, she'd helped contribute to it. She had chosen the Sith, betrayed Kara's last request, forgot her memory, and sought power for herself. Oh, she had fooled herself into thinking it was for the slaves, to free them. But when the Sith had taken prisoners to work on the ruins, she'd turned a blind eye. She had been no better than Omeesh, letting her students kill the innocent prisoners.

Then, then she had met Lashowe in the bar and it had been all too easy for her to lure the young woman to her bed, with promises of power and an admission into the academy. She had tentatively wondered if she'd found someone who she could love once more, a strange notion for a Sith. But she found out the truth all too quickly. Her mind burned once more.

_"Lashowe... what do you think you're doing?" Yuthura stared at the woman she had taken to her bed in annoyance. "Tell me, before I kill you!"_

_"It's quite simple Master Yuthura," Lashowe, her blond hair matted with sweat from the previous nights indulgence, grinned at her. "I have sliced my way into your private data files. I tell you, Master Uthar would be most interested in what they have to say..."_

_"You, you broke into my private files?" Yuthura growled at her and Lashowe took a step backwards. "Why?"_

_"Because, I have been talking to Master Uthar, Master Yuthura. He thinks you want him dead... imagine my surprise when I found your diary. It's full of dreams of power I'm sure he would find collaborating. If I do this, I'm guaranteed a place at the academy, a chance to become a true Sith."_

_"I... I thought we..." Yuthura cursed her weakness as Lashow grinned and laughed at her._

_"Yes I know, shame really. I'm not fond of what we did at all, but it gained me access to your private files, so I consider it worth what I paid."_

_"Paid?" Yuthura wished her voice wouldn't sound so strained. "You... you did this just to gain prestige?"_

_"Oh yes," Lashowe smirked at her. "Now, the question is, what will you give me as a counter to Master Uthar's offer of a Sith medallion and a chance to become a Sith?"_

_Yuthura stared at her. If she killed her, Uthar would see that as confirmation that Lashow had found proof of her desire to run the academy. That, she could not allow. However, nor could she let the damn woman run around with her personal thoughts. With a sigh, she stared at the young Sith wannabe and cracked her knuckles._

_"Very well, I will not only give you a Medallion right now, but I will also give you the details of a Sith holocron I found while sifting the ruins... That should give you masses of prestige, and its location is simple to find. It is in the belly of a simple beast, even you should be able to kill it."_

_"Very well," Lashowe grinned and held out a pad. "Download the details and I will erase your personal data from my pad."_

_"Very well," She walked across to the main console and tapped at it intently, but her fingers paused as she asked the one question that part of her, buried deeply, burned to know. "Tell me, did it really mean nothing?"_

_"Yes," Lashowe laughed at her. "Nothing at all. In fact, I found it quite repulsive to tell you the truth. Still, it got me what I wished."_

_Yuthura felt the hatred bubble up and she snarled. Once the little bitch had got what she wanted, a Sith medallion, She would have to find a way to have her killed. If she did it herself, then Master Uthar would kill her, as Lashowe was obviously his favoured student. But she couldn't let this little Sith bitch have her way when she was Academy master! _

_No, no.... she would go to the Cantina for a few hours a day until the time limit for new Students ended. She would remain there for as long as it took to find her prospect. Brute force would be useless, she needed a Jedi or force sensitive prospect as cunning as Lashowe. Once she found one, the promise to help him or her become a Sith would lure them into her confidence. She would use them to kill Lashowe, suggest that they ask her for help._

_"Master Ban?" The little bitch's smarmy voice intruded and Yuthura pressed the last few buttons. "Would you mind hurrying a little? I wish to wash your filthy touch from my skin."_

_Turning, Yuthura handed her the data pad with a growl and she watched as the young woman took it, checked the data and nodded. _

_"Very well, here." She handed her the Datapad with her private entries. "Good bye, Yuthura."_

_With a Snarl, she watched her go... no one betrayed her, no one!_

"_I used that man, Revan, to kill her... deliberately set her up! _Yuthura felt bile lurch up into her throat and she clasped her hand over her lips. "_Oh god, what kind of a monster was I!?_"

"_I would suggest Lashowe, she is far too trusting_." The whisper of her past haunted her, memories of her terrible, foolish choices. "_Well done, my prospect for the year... Lashowe was far to cunning."_

Lashowe had been too young to die, she had needed Revan's help, not her... not a foolish, murdering Twi'lek. If Revan had seen that she was beyond help, then maybe the young girl would still be alive, maybe the anger that she carried could have been purged, healed... something. Instead she'd pushed a Jedi to murder one so young, all due to her lust for power.

She slid off the bed, her legs buckling under her from the strain. She had to get away, she had no right to be with he Jedi, none! Wavering on her unsteady legs, Yuthura glanced around for her clothes, anything. The furry woman slumbered on, her chest rising slowly and Yuthura steadied herself... she had to stay quiet.

Turning, Yuthura spied a half-closed door, the light from the moon highlighting what looked like Jedi robes. Those would do. Slowly, Yuthura relaxed her grip on the bed, and took a wobbly step forwards, or tried to. Her legs failed to respond, her mind still trying to work out the right connections to perform something as complicated as walking.

"_I can never share power with one such as you... I... I'm sorry_." Another memory slammed into her, the image of herself betraying the man who had done everything she'd wanted, and also tried to help her. With a cry of pain, as her temple spiked with agony, she fell on the floor in a heap and bile slipped into her mouth.

"_I was a murderer."_ She crawled towards the refresher, bumping the seat as she did so. "_Murderer, slaver, evil..."_

She reached the bowl, slid the seat up and vomited as hard as possible at the memories of what she had become. Unable to help herself, she gripped the stem as her stomach heaved and heaved at the images that ran through her mind. Each one was terrible to her now. The dreams of power and lust that had corrupted her now taunted her, at the weakness she showed. She shivered, realising how far she had fallen that the darkside had sunk its claws into her this far. She would never be rid of its whisper, she knew that now... and it scared her. Her fingers clutched the side of the bowl tightly and she felt tears stream down her face.

"I don't deserve the chance to live again." She whispered at the murky image of her face reflected by the metal lid. Her reflection stared back at her, unforgiving and she knew the look was aimed at her very soul. "I betrayed everything I believed in, betrayed Kara, betrayed the Jedi and, and I betrayed myself."

As she clung miserably to the refresher, Yuthura felt a bubble of ironic laughter well up inside her. She laughed at the sight of herself, battered, pale, ashamed. Handed to a Sith slaver vessel like a piece of meat, handed to a slavery bar. The slave, who became a Jedi, turned to the darkness, turned her back on its dark whisper and became a slave once more. Her life, nothing more than one circle, that took her back to the start.

"Yuthura Ban, the great Sith Master! Now, just plain Yuthura Ban, ex slave, ex Jedi, ex Sith and betrayer to all." Her reflection stared at her, unrelenting in its scorn. "By the Force, what have I done?"

"You cannot change the past." A sudden furry voice purred into her ear, and strong hands slid around her arms to pull her up. "But, you turned to the light path once more. Redemption can be had."

Yuthura stared into the gently smiling face of the young fur coated woman who had been asleep in the chair opposite her. She was familiar in some way, but Yuthura found her memories skittered around like broken glass when she tried to focus on her face.

"Who are you?" She asked and the Cathar, that was it, she was a Cathar, looked concerned for a second. "I... I have to ask, you seem familiar."

"First, do you know who you are?" She asked gently and Yuthura sighed in annoyance. Juhani decided to try and help, she prompted her. "Your mind was badly damaged by the Sith in revenge for your decision to turn back to the light. When we found you, well, you had lost any sense of who you were. So, do you remember who you are?"

"I was a prisoner of the Sith?" Yuthura frowned, ignoring Juhani's question and she felt more memories slip from the recesses of her healed mind. They slipped into place with only a slight painful stab and she looked up in horror at the Cathar. "The Enclave, the attack! Did she escape? I... I tried to help her!"

"Shhh," Juhani closed her eyes quickly, blocking out he terrible empty feeling that the image brought her. However, she knew that Yuthura saw her pain, though she didn't know why. "First, the name. What is your name?"

"Yuthura Ban, Juh... Juhani?" She smiled suddenly as the Cathar's face linked to a name and more details surfaced and clicked into place. "Your name is Juhani. You were with Revan on Korriban, and, and I saw you afterwards? When... when I was in pain?"

"Yes," Juhani sighed in relief, it seemed that Yuthura would be okay after all. "My name is Juhani. I rescued you from the slavery bar they had you in, on Almaina. That was how you lost your mind, they decided to use you as a tool for practice in the Force."

"So, I owe you my life." Yuthura sighed and held out her hand, ignoring the faint tremor of exhaustion. "For what little it's worth, my life is yours."

"No, I will not take that pledge." Juhani felt part of her rip, and she sighed. "Belaya, the woman you tried to save, was killed after you gave everything to let her escape. I have pledged to assist you until you are fully healed once more."

"She, she died?" Yuthura sighed and felt a bitterness enter her. A sudden thought struck her and she gazed at Juhani in surprise. "You two were close?"

"She was once a... she was very close to me, very." Juhani sighed and pulled Yuthura back into he main bedroom. "Now, You need rest. The healers told me that the recall of your life would be painful to you. I see they did not lie. You need rest, and I will stay here in case you need anything."

"Wait, please..." Yuthura felt her slow and stare at her. The Cathar's face was attractive in a strange way. To her surprise, she felt another memory trickle into her. "The furry one! I called you the _furry_ one?"

Juhani blushed and, a few seconds later, Yuthura's purple skin deepened ever so slightly. "Yes, while you were mentally damaged, that was your name for me. I presume as I am covered in fur as you can see."

"Yes, I see, it is hard to miss." Yuthura coughed and for a second realised how clingy the Medical robe was on her skin. She trembled slightly as she realised how intently she felt Juhani's soft furry hands around her waist and shoulders. "I... I should get some rest I suppose."

She slid back into the soft grip of the covers of her bed and watched as Juhani crept lithely to the chair in the moonlight and sank into it. As Yuthura lay back, she felt a sudden need to say something. It would have once been a weak thing to say, indeed, she felt her lingering Sith memories balk at the idea. But, she was adamant; it had to be said.

"Juhani?" She asked tentatively. "I... I just wanted to say. Well, thank you for saving my life. I suppose I owe Revan as well, but for now... you are my saviour, I will never forget that."

"No thanks is necessary," Juhani muttered, her face blushing deeply in the moonlight. "I would have done this regardless... no one deserves to be a slave, no one. But, I owe you thanks as well. You tried to save Belaya, and for that I thank you in turn."

"I did what I could..." Yuthura murmured, exhaustion rapidly overtaking her and making her voice drop into a mumble. "Wasn't enough."

"You tried and that means so much to me and I am sure the Force itself. Redemption is something you deserve," Juhani gazed at her as Yuthura's eyes closed slowly, gazed at her intently. "I shall never forget that."

She watched as Yuthura's form shivered slightly and then stilled, peace thrumming into her aura. The Twi'lek's purple skin glowed in the moonlight and Juhani stepped on the sudden lurch of her heart, stilled the loving whisper of her soul. She was a friend, nothing more... could not be anything more.

"Yes, sleep," She muttered, trying to get comfortable once more on the chair, her eyes never leaving Yuthura's face. "I shall watch over you, for as long as you need me."


	21. Revenant:chapter4:part6

Part 6.

Ebon Hawk.

Mission sat at the main holotable, the news playing over the screen was one of attack and counter attack. The Sith, it seemed, had wised up to the fact that Malak was dead, and had begun to try and carve little pieces of the empire he and Revan had forged, for themselves.

She sighed and popped another of the candies she'd purchased while walking back to the enclave into her mouth. Chewing, she watched the screen show her friends and herself, looking particularly cool and dashing in her Mandalorian armour, waving at a vast crowd. Her eyes flicked to the one person who looked uneasy, Bastila and she shook her head. She didn't like her that much, but she was a friend in a way. To see her after the Star Forge, it was kinda obvious that Bastila had been struggling to cope, why hadn't she seen it?

"Because ya didn't want to." She thought slowly, with brutal honesty. "It felt good to see little Miss high and mighty knocked down a peg."

She shook herself slightly, it wasn't in her nature to dislike anyone, and the thought was cruel. Bastila had been struggling with things that she would never understand hoped she would never feel.

"I should cut her some frelling slack!" She thought slowly. "When she gets back that is, cause this aint how I wanna feel every time I see her."

With a sigh, Mission turned her attention to the holoviewer once more and began to flick randomly through the various galactic database channels, looking for something good. Finally she set on watching the Coruscant Swoop races, despite them being far less exciting as the Taris races. She sighed in memory, her and BigZ standing in the crowd, cheering the Beck's rider to victory. The smell of ozone as the swoops had hurtled past her, especially when BigZ had placed her tiny frame on his shoulders so she could get a better look. Yeah, sometimes Taris hadn't been as bad as all that. She missed the filthy planet more than she cared to admit, despite having had her eyes opened to how awful it had been. To her, it had been and always would be, home.

"BigZ..." She murmured with a smile. She wondered what her old friend was doing now on Kashyyk. She missed the big old walking rug, missed him terribly. Still, at least being the chief of his clan would keep him out of trouble, she hoped.

A sudden commotion at the Hawk's entrance hatch made her look up from her reverie in shock. Revan's voice echoed around the corridor, his footsteps clanking on the metal. She grinned. They could hit the Cantina, and then they could watch some of the late night vids that always came on. She slid to her feet with excitement.

"That was cheating, I refuse to let you lord it over me." Revan's voice was laughing, amused for the first time in ages and Mission grinned. "What kind of realistic distraction did you think that would be?"

"I won fair and square, Revan," Mission's eyes widened at the familiar lilting upper class tones. "I don't see what you're complaining about."

"Kissing me while locked in a clash is not something that I can see happening very often." Revan's body appeared, backing into the Hawk's crew lounge. "Especially against the Sith."

"Spoilsport." Bastila's body slid slowly around the corner and she stopped at the sight of Mission. Bastila's face stiffened slightly, and Mission felt her own back become a lot more ridgid.

"Mission, it's good to see you again." Bastila said softly, a smile, almost passing for real, flickering on her face. "I see that you managed to stay in one piece."

"Yeah, and OI kept Revan the same way too." Mission sighed as her conscience prodded her. She was beginning to wish she wasn't so soft hearted. "Look, it's good ta see ya, and even better that with you here, Revan can stop sulking so much."

"I don't sulk!" Revan muttered and Bastila grinned. "I don't!"

"Tell that to someone who hasn't had you moaning for the last thirty or so minutes about the unfair advantages I had during the duel. Hence me winning ten to nine." Bastila glanced at Mission and for the first time she could remember, felt her face soften. "What do you think, Mission? Is it unfair for someone to kiss the opponent while duelling? Causing said opponent to reel back in surprise and drop his lightsabre... I won that point I think, the decider too."  
Mission giggled, she couldn't help it and Revan's eyes narrowed. "Huh. I think it was cheating."

"Sorry Rev, but well..." Mission glanced at Bastila. "Basti has a point. She did win fair and square, I suppose. Duelling, you take advantage of any weapon you can use."

"Ha," Bastila smirked at him as she clipped her dual sabre to her belt. "You see? Independent judge, and Mission agrees with me."

"Oh great," Revan sighed and a faint smile crossed his lips. "It was a lovely tactic, I have to admit. It caught me totally off guard... I may just insist on another demonstration, for future reference."

Mission felt her face twist as she watched Bastila blush a deep red and grin. What was it with these two? She knew about sex, how could someone growing up on Taris not? However, when she had seen the prostitutes and Cantina rats plying their trade, there had been none of this, weird emotional stuff between them.

The other types of people she saw in the cantinas would be the rich rollers. They always had some big Lekku owning Twi'lek or a sly, slinky kind of Tarisian hanging on their arm. They were always beautiful, dressed in expensive and slinky clothing and cold, ice cold in the eyes. However, that always changed when they looked at the man or woman they were with. The men or women that took them to the clubs and bars always gave the same adoring look that Revan gave Bastila. The women always used to return the gaze in the same way that Bastila did, the icy gaze vanishing. But somehow... ah, she didn't know.

For... for Bastila and Revan it was different, there she'd said it. Every time since Bastila had fallen in love with him, even during her depression after her fall, there had been this, odd, warm sensation when the two of them were together. Now, with the two of them both as happy as Mission had seen them in a along time, she could feel the air crackle with whatever it was. She didn't understand, and it creeped her out.

"Oh, geez. Fer Taris's sake guys," She muttered, her lekku writhing in discomfort. "Get a room, please!"

Bastila smiled faintly at her, which shocked Mission. Their stormy relationship had often resulted in some snide comments and once, thanks to Mission going too far, a Force trip. This, new Bastila unsettled her almost as much as the way they kept glancing at each other.

Revan sighed and placed a gentle hand on Missions arm. "Well, look. Bastila and I were wondering about that. Umm..." He watched her young face stare at him in growing suspicion. "Well, would you mind taking the other bunk room tonight?"

"You and her want to... I mean." Mission swallowed and she blushed. She could see Bastila blushing faintly behind Revan and she sighed. "Well, sure."

"Thanks," Revan smiled at her and Bastila nodded at her in thanks. "We owe you one."

"Cool, because I want to stay up late and watch the vids." Mission tilted her head at Revan and her Lekku waved in suggestive way, even as she smiled slyly. "Now, if someone were to let me stay up that late..."

"You do anyway," Revan muttered, as Bastila shook her head slightly in exasperation. "Okay, fine. I give you my permission, to officially stay up as late as you like. Instead of sneaking in here, like you usually do, and watching them when everyone else has gone to bed."

I want to raid the synthesiser too!" She pouted. "Nothing like a chance to eat what ya like, as much as ya like."

"Okay, now that's pushing it, Mission." Revan waved a finger at her and she bristled. "Movies, fine, but not unlimited access to the synthesiser."

"Awww..." Was all she managed, inwardly groaning at how childish she sounded. "You two are so unfair to me, I swear Bastila, you're rubbing off on him."

"Perhaps," Bastila smiled faintly as Revan walked up to her and slid his arm around her waist. Mission frowned, what was it with all the touching? "Maybe that is for the best, as he is rubbing off on me."

"Not yet..." Revan whispered, all to audibly to Mission's young ears. "But when the time is right..."

"Hush," Bastila told him, fighting an urge to giggle. "That is most un-Jedi like."

"Mmm, but then I'm an unusual Jedi." Revan hugged her closer and slowly slid his lips along her neck, making Bastila hunch slightly. "With very un-Jedi like ideas. But I trust in the light to guide me... to all the right places."

"Okay, that's it." Mission backed away from her two friends in disgust. "This was too weird! "I promise, no raiding the Synthesiser, if you two will just go and do that... elsewhere!"

"Why, Mission. Whatever do you mean?" Revan asked nonchalantly, even as Bastila shook her head and sighed at his antics. "Shall we, Jedi Shan?"

Mission watched as the two of them walked quietly arm in arm, towards the rear of the ship and she shivered. Bastila had glanced back for just a second, and had shrugged in apology. That in itself was just plain weird. Love... if that was what it was, she'd never felt like that towards Zaalbar, changed things way too much. She would never understand what the attraction was for people to end up kissing and, and end up doing other things. But, Revan and Bastila had it bad, she could tell.

"Just all round, completely an totally weird!"

With a shake of her head, Mission sat back down in front of the holo table and let herself slowly become immersed in the Swoop racing.

Bastila let her duffel bag fall onto the metal floor in an untidy pile and she sighed at the familiar feeling of the room. The shape of it, the sound of the Hawk's engines in standby, the smell of oil, metal and very faint traces of sweat... she was home. This battered, tarnished, and overpowered ship had become as dear to her as the man who stood behind her.

"I never thought of this place ever becoming home to me." Her voice echoed quietly in the room and she sighed. "But, maybe it's more to do with he man who own it...."

She felt a hand gently slip onto her shoulder, warm and powerful. She felt it tug her gently and she let her muscles slack so she span round slowly. The man she loved slid to a halt in front of her, quiet, sensuous, thoughtful. He was, she thought with a shiver, everything she had once feared.

"You fear me?" Revan whispered quietly, his face hurt. She cursed; the thought had been spoken aloud in her mind. With her barriers down, Revan had sensed it. "Why?"

She reached out and slid her hand slowly up to rest on his heart. She could feel the gentle throb of it under his skin. So strong, yet fragile enough that she could break it, and yet, he could do the same to her.

"I was frightened of how you made me feel, not too long ago. So strong, powerful, with destiny pushing you along at a terrible pace. Because of our bond, because of how we were joined, it dragged me along after you, caught in the wake. That was frightening and exhausting enough. I know how gruelling it was for the others. Mission was exhausted, although she would never tell you. I had a greater problem though, one I could never share with you."

"You knew who I was, once." He spoke to her softly and she shuddered. "How you felt about me? How I made you feel? That frightened you."

"Yes, oh yes." She sighed. "Not because of who you once were, but because I was slowly, terribly slowly, falling in love with you. Can you understand? That it was the most frightening thing I have ever experienced."

"I can. You were falling in love with a monster," He whispered. "I suppose that would frighten anyone. When you, when you fell. That scared me more than any of the experiences I had been given, or really experienced. I think I know how you felt."

"Hold me..." She whispered, unable to resist him any longer. "Hold me, please."

She felt him slip his warm arms around her, trailing his fingers until they splayed evenly along her back, supporting and strong.

"You made me feel... weak." She admitted. "Emotionally weak. I could think of nothing but you, dream of you. I anted to touch you, taste you, be with you. As a Jedi, no, as a Jedi who had such little experience of emotion, it was terrifying. It felt like I was, like I was falling, scrabbling at the sides."

"Shhh," Revan murmured to her, pulling her a little closer, a little tighter. "I am so sorry you felt that way. To me, to have you fall for me was the greatest thing ever in my life. To lose you, that... that was the worst."

"Shhhh," She copied him with a faint smile. "Listen to me, please. Finally I realised that what I felt, what I needed to feel, wasn't wrong. The Jedi code I followed conflicted with my needs. So, I did what I always did when faced with problems. I locked it all away."

"You never said that to me." Revan murmured and Bastila trembled in his grip.

"Well, I tried to distance myself from you." She gazed at him fondly. "But, I should have relaised that when you want something, it's yours. The kiss," She sighed and Revan closed his eyes in remembrance. "Stolen at the back of the Hawk, that cracked me open. I.. I pushed you away, such a foolish thing to do."

"I left you alone," he told her. "That was my mistake."

"No, I needed time to think. But, then..." She shuddered in his grip, a faint version of the agony that had ripped her apart a month ago. "Then Malak came and he ripped me open even further. I was a fool, my love, I should have held onto your love. When I rejected you, it left a hole in me."

"Bast..."

"Shhhh, a hole that needed you. Do you see? My fears had become real Revan. I needed you, to be complete." She kissed him and he groaned. "When I... I fell to the darkness, I found that all I had left of me was, well it was the part in love with you. A tiny glimmer in all that dark and you found it, when no one else could. For that, I will always be yours."

"You gave me the one thing I never attained as the dark lord." Revan whispered. "Or at least, that's how I feel when I dream. When the fragments of him left in my mind surface. For all his terrible power, his empire and his women, he lacked one thing." He tilted her head back and gazed at her with such deep need in his dark eyes, that Bastila felt her legs shudder. "Love, someone who loved him and he could love back. He lost any chance of that... lost everything that made life living to replace it with power, to feed the dark in him."

He kissed her deeply, his tongue exploring her mouth smoothly as she breathed slowly into him. She was amazing, simply amazing and she was all his. He knew it, as sure as he knew that he was once Revan.

"Have you ever thought that it was your love that kept me on the path of the light. For all the warnings, the dangers that the Jedi told me, it was my love for you that kept me whole."

She felt him touch her in the bond and his love for her trickled into her mind. She sighed, knowing without a doubt that what he said, what he felt, was as genuine as her love for him. She reached into the bond, and projected her own love deeply into his mind.

"_I love you, with all my heat Revan. You are my reason to live, to exist, to fright whatever taint is left in me..._"

"_Bastila, you are the strongest person I know. You have kept me focused on the light, helped me tread the path, stopped me from falling into the same holes as my past life_." Revan wrapped his mind around her and she fell back in a throaty moan at his feelings of desire, love and devotion. "_I am yours, you are mine. We are bonded in the Force, in life and physically._"

"Well, not the last one." She managed, slowly pushing away from him. "Not yet."

Revan sighed and watched as she slipped out from his grasp. He ran a hand through his hair, the feelings of desire fluttering in his stomach. She turned to him and smiled, breathing heavily. He gazed at her smooth curves, as she stood in the middle of the crew bunks, and felt his heart flutter. She was so beautiful, so powerful, so sexy.

"Stop, please." Bastila whispered her turquoise eyes unfocused, as his desire to make love to her slammed into her mind. She giggled at him and shuddered. "This is so hard to admit, but... if I hadn't made myself that promise, I'd..."

Revan's eyes widened at the images she sent him and he breathed heavily. "Bastila, this isn't easy."

"I know, I told you so." Bastila slid onto the side of her bunk and stared at him. She felt hot, itchy and every time she shifted, her stomach quivered and she felt worse. "My love, my Revan...."

"Do you know how hot you look, sitting there?" Revan asked her and he felt sweat begin to trickle down his forehead. "I'm having trouble... umm controlling my emotions, Bastila."

"Me too," she sighed and a faint grin passed over her lips. "Well, that means separate bunks tonight."

"Aww," Revan managed, his mind filled with the image of her, naked, arms open... needing him. "I did make a promise, Bastila, I know that...."

"But?" she asked him, feeling his desire coursing through the bond, images of the two of them writhing together filled her mind and she struggled to keep herself from launching off the bunk and tearing his clothes off. "Revan?"

"Well, I... I never knew it would be this hard. "Bastila, I really, really want to..."

Bastila held up a trembling hand and sighed.

"Well, I promise that when we do make love," She felt the itch slip into a heat just below her stomach. "That it will be the most memorable time I can. I want to make it perfect as possible, just as you do."

"Can I at least kiss you?" He asked her and she shuddered at the thought. She opened her mouth to utter a weak refusal, for now, but found herself staring into his eyes. Revan kneeled in front of her, gazing at her with desire, tempered by a love so strong it had brought her back. "Please?"

"I...I" she found herself wrapping her fingers in his hair, her defences crumbling under her own inner assault. "Well, just a kiss..."

She felt his lips ravage hers as the last word slipped from her. She groaned. This was so intense. She felt her resistance totally crumble, his kiss leaving a fire on her skin that slipped and slid across her entire body, making her sweat with sudden need.

"_Let me..."_ She heard echo in her mind and she fell back on the bed. "_Let me please you, thrill you..._" She gasped as one of his hands slid to lie against her stomach muscles. "_Let me give you all you ever need_."

A moan escaped her lips, and she found that her will to resist had crumbled to nothing. She was linked with him, passion for passion, need for need, love for love. She felt her hands grip him, tug him closer and her lips slid onto his in a deep kiss.

"_More, take more!_" she thought, a laugh of pleasure mingling with the words. "_I need you to touch me, touch my body..."_

She felt Revan respond, his hands trailing up to once again rest on the zip to her tunic. Memories of how close they had got in the Jedi temple assaulted her and she moaned at her need for him.

She was amazing, Revan knew that as he touched her. He could feel her soft skin under his fingers, smooth and warm to the touch. While His heart pounded at the scent, taste and texture of her, Bastila's heart pumped smoothly, slowly, seductively.

Kissing her, Revan felt the texture of her lips, and the smooth taste of her. She was feminine, not a Jedi or a heroine, just Bastila. Always for him, she was just Bastila. He laughed slightly at her bemused expression, the flicker of laughter in her eyes as he gazed at her with desire.

He could feel her, the bond once more linking them to such an extent to be one mind, one soul. He could feel her love for him shining like a beacon, could feel her exhilaration as he touched her ever so softly. He knew her... he knew all of her at that single moment. With a shudder, her turned his attention to the one thing that separated them from each other.

Standing, Revan gazed down at her exposed and vulnerable body with such passion that Bastila felt her breath catch in her throat. This was it, she realised to her own surprise, this was the moment that they had reached on the temple. This was the moment that had been cruelly denied to them both by a single interruption. She was ready, oh so ready and willing to give herself, mind, body and soul.

"_I need you_," her mind whispered to him and he shuddered as the coils of her thought wound themselves around his mind. "_I... I can't wait any longer. I've missed you, needed you, wanted to touch and be touched by you. I woke up at night alone, yearning to feel your arm slip around me, to hear your heart beat next to me!_"

Revan stared at her for a moment and then bent down slowly. His lips slid along her neck, making her moan and he ran a trail of kisses, that to her felt like fire, along the smooth skin. Her vein pulsed gently under his lips, pulsed with each kiss he gave her.

"_I will never leave you, Bastila Shan. You make my life worth every drop of pain, anguish and terror. I need you, and I always will need you. My love, my Force partner, my soul mate_."

She sighed at the simple words, feeling her breath slowly thicken as his lips slid across hers once more. The warmth of his body was growing, she could feel a heat pulsing from him now, a heat that she had stoked with her needs. She knew it was her doing, for her own heat had been stoked by his desire. Arching her neck to give him even more access, Bastila groaned at the heat of her own skin.

Revan trailed his hands along the smooth tight fabric of her tunic slowly. Her robe, so concealing in a strange way, became even more taut as his fingers removed the free fabric. The curves and muscles of her body that the loose robe hid slowly slipped into focus and he traced the outline of her abdomen underneath the tan coloured fabric. Bastila gasped, and as he watched her eyes slid out of focus.

"_This is almost where we got to last time..._" He thought to her, and she let out a rasping snort. "_Lets see how far I can get this time_."

She knew she should tell him to stop, beg him to stop. She wanted it to be the perfect moment, perfect as possible. "Revan I...."

Her breath caught in her throat as his fingers curled around the tiny zip at the top of her neckline. Ever so slowly, Revan began to pull the zip of her tunic down. Once more, the fabric slid softly away to reveal her muscular stomach, her beautiful curves, and her naked beauty. To him, she glowed with happiness. Her skin was warm to his touch. Tanned skin that slipped and slithered under his fingers. He could feel the muscles under it, tense and ready to respond to his every whim. She was so strong and quite, quite beautiful. Smiling, Revan leaned down and slowly kissed her once more. His hands slid down to rest on her stomach and he smiled at her.

Suddenly, he found himself tossed gently into the air, only to come to a rest inches from the metal of the recess that the bunk was built into. Revan looked about in shock. He could hear a soft grunting, and the first thing that came to mind was his love fighting with a Sith assassin. Just as he was about to put all his own skill into he Force to break the grip holding him in the air, he heard Bastila's quiet laughter and surprise gave ways to amusement.

"And you chided Mission about using the Force for petty things."

"Petty?" Her voice was warm, slightly breathless and he felt her amused desire flow into him. "This is nothing to do with pettiness. To be honest, I think the reason I've suspended you up there is incredibly important.

Revan stared at the metal with a grin. "What would that be?"

"Why, my love, haven't you guessed?" Her voice was warm, teasing and happy. "This time, I get to be the one on top!"

The grip that had held Revan in the air vanished, and he fell to land with a slight huff of expelled breath on the bunks soft mattress. Suddenly, Bastila was there, her blue eyes gazing at him with a deep intense love. He felt her reach out with the Force, a quick feather like touch to ensure he was all right, then the smile returned.

Bastila watched his eyes fix on her face, amused and aroused, and she returned the gaze equally.

"_There is emotion... but there is peace, a lovers peace._" Part of her whispered and she felt her self tremble as she stared at her lover. "_Love, love can save you_."

"It did." She whispered, her fingers twitching slightly.

Revan's eyes creased in confusion, but she smiled and raised a finger to her lips as he opened his mouth to ask a question. Ever since the Star Forge, the Council, even the mission to serve the republic fleet, Bastila had wanted one thing. Now, he lay on the bunk before her, his kisses still sizzled on her skin. It was her turn to both give and take.

Her hands slid slowly up her body, pulling a groan from Revan as he watched her hands trail across the curves, and rested lightly on the shoulder pads that held the unzipped tunic in place. Watching him, Bastila slowly slid the fabric away from her shoulders and let it descend in a cascade of tan fabric. She felt the environmental plant air, ever so slightly cold, hit her skin and her lips fell open slightly at the sensation. Her eyes fixed on Revan's and the look of sheer desire that she found staring at him from those dark eyes made her heart tremble. She was naked, save for her bra, and his eyes passed over her with a tender need, the appreciation that he felt whispered sensuously to her along the bond.

She stepped forwards and mounted the bunk, straddling Revan between her thighs, gently. Her fingers traced along his muscles and lingered at the area where she knew her lightsabre had once struck deep.

"I very nearly killed you that day, because you refused to fight, or defend..." She stared, as her fingers began to tremble for another reason than desire. "I have no right to have what I do..."

His fingers clamped over hers and she shuddered. Looking up his body, she found him staring into her eyes with a compassion that made her feel dizzy. He stared at her and his pure, truthful words yanked at her remaining guilt.

"You didn't, you turned to the light, we've both been through this before." Revan slid his other hand around her naked waist and she shivered at the feel of his skin on hers. "Tonight, I want us to feel, to have, the simple pleasure of being together. I want to touch you, kiss you and make love to you, with no guilt or pain. Just for tonight."

She nodded and her fingers rested lightly once more on his tunic. She could feel the scar, knew it was there, but the shame had gone. Instead she ran her fingers up to the hem of Revan's robe and yanked at it. Ever so slowly, loosened and she pulled harder, slowly revealing Revan's own naked body. His skin was rougher than hers was and criss-crossed with a lifetime of battle scars. She gazed at the muscles, the structure, and felt a hunger grow inside her, a hunger for him.

Her head slid down and she ran her lips across the scar that she knew she had left. She wanted to bath it, to kiss it, to heal it somehow. He was alive, under her, and in love with her totally and the sensation was incredible. She felt his fingers curl tightly into her hair, to wrap each single finger in her thick brown silk. She slid her tongue across the scar, traced it and he groaned at each gentle caress, as she had with his kisses.

"No shame," He managed to whisper and Bastila found herself kissing her way up his chest. Her hands ran alongside her head, tracing his body, muscles, him. His soft voice whispered to her. "I love you Bastila Shan."

Her head slid to rest alongside his, as her stomach and thighs felt him quiver under her, ready to make love to her. "I know, and I love you too. This is truly a perfect moment, my love. Please, I beg of you, make love to me right now."

She didn't need to ask again, the truth of her statement slamming into Revan like a speeder bike. She felt his emotions spike. Happiness, love, desire, need. She felt them all shift and transform into a huge wave of pure untarnished love that slammed into her, carried her as high as possible. Her own emotions blended and crashed against Revan in equal force and the two Jedi could only writhe in the grip of pure ecstasy from the other.

Revan pushed up, rearing against her and gripped her tightly around the waist, his head resting on her chest. "Yes, I will. This really is our perfect moment."

He pulled back to gaze at her, her own eyes mingling with his and she could feel the pounding of her heart mesmerise her as he leaned forwards to kiss her, his fingers deftly un-picking her bra. This was it... this was the time; this was the mome...

"_Master Revan_!" A shocked voice echoed around the tiny room and Bastila felt the moment shatter irrevocably. She shivered, as Revan's own disorientation slammed into her, and panic ripped though her body. With her defences down, she felt a wave of shame ripple through her, she was naked and someone else was in here!

Revan's hands slipped around her defensively, his own shaking an indication to her that he was a shocked as she, and he pushed her gently to move onto the bunk.

As Bastila moved backward off him, Revan slid to his feet, tugged down his under vest, and wrapped the undone Jedi robe back around him. He heard Bastila quickly tugging the bunks sheets around her chest, heard her panicked gasps and he frowned.

Turning, he sought out the yell that had shattered their perfect moment... shattered it to the point of no return. His eyes narrowed as he recognised the person standing in the doorway.

"Selyne." He growled, and his voice was tinged with anger. "Sith spit!"

"_There is no emotion, only peace_." His mind warned him, as if it had picked up on the starting twinges of annoyance that would lead to anger. "_Be calm, composed... or at least try to be_."

Selyne stood haughtily in the doorway to the Hawk's bunkroom, arms crossed and a deep look of distaste and dismay on her face. She leaned against the doorjamb and her voice whipped out like a lash.

"Master! What were you and Bastila thinking? A Jedi should not succumb to such petty, basic and emotional desires!" She forced herself off the doorjamb and strode forward. "What kind of a Jedi are you? I mean, I chose to be led by you in the Force!"

Revan felt his anger surge again, but this time he sat on it with all his conditioning. Even so, he couldn't help but feel himself shift forwards, placing his weight in an offensive body pose. Suddenly a clanking noise made them both glance towards the bunkroom door. Mission's young blue body came hurtling through the doorway, her face a mask of misery.

"Rev, that Selyne woman's here an she!" She skidded to a halt at the sight of Revan, his cloths in disarray, Selyne's haughty and disapproving expression and Bastila's frantic attempts to cover herself with the bunk sheet. "Ah hell!"

Mission glanced at Selyne with anger and walked up to Revan. He watched as a shameful expression slipped onto the young girl's face, almost descending into guilt as her eyes flicked to Bastila. "Rev, Bas... look I'm really sorry but she wouldn't listen to me and she pushed me into the food area an shut the door. I'm so, so sorry!"

"You gave me no reason to not go and see Revan!" Selyne flared, before visibly forcing herself to calm down. "There is no emotion, only peace. Only peace..."

Revan sighed and looked at her with a shake of his head.

"I told you when you joined me that I was not fit to guide you in the ways of the Force. But, you insisted. " She thinned her lips at his comment, but Revan held up a hand. "Besides, that's not the point right now. What gives you the right to barge in like this?"

Revan watched as the first sign of a blush slipped onto her face at his commanding tone. She stood there, still radiating dismay, but now it was tempered with just a tiny bit of uncertainty. Her eyes flicked to his left as Bastila, her upper half now wrapped in a makeshift toga, joined him.

Revan could feel Bastila's shame rippling through her aura and he felt annoyance this time. Annoyance on her behalf not his. Selyne had ruined something special, and he knew that Bastila still found it hard to give in to her emotions sometimes. She was scared of them, even now, and that made him cross with Selyne. He felt her hand curl suddenly into his and he shuddered.

"_Revan, peace... I love you." He felt her slip into his mind and caress the anger she found there away. "I am not such an... an emotional cripple as I used to be. Jolee has taught me as much as he could. I do find it hard to release what I feel, even now, but I won't let this affect me."_

"_I promise, we will find our perfect moment...."_ He thought back.

"I came to ask you some questions." Selyne broke into their thoughts abruptly. "I didn't know that you were, well, getting physical with someone."

"That is not the point." Revan looked at his Padawan and waved a finger. "If Mission told you I was busy, you should listen. I trust her, she's been with me since the beginning of all this."

"I see," Selyne glanced at the small Twi'lek, who grinned slyly at her. "I did not realise you put so much faith in this... child."

"Child? Child!" Mission balled her fists and glared at the taller Jedi. "Man you're worse than she was! At least Basti never called me a child to my face, ya Bantha herder!"

Bastila blushed as Selyne's eyes slid to her. She felt particularly vulnerable, for some strange reason, as the eyes of Selyne held something other than just disapproval.

"Ahh yes." Selyne glanced at Bastila's makeshift toga and raised a single eyebrow. "The legendary Bastila Shan... Hero and Jedi, turned Sith, now redeemed."

Bastila flushed and Revan stepped forwards to verbally slap Selyne back, uncaring that his darker emotions were getting the better of him. Bastila's hand tightened on his, however, and he stared at her as she bowed slightly towards Selyne.

"Jedi Selyne. I see you have heard of me." Bastila smiled, slightly. "I hope most of it was good?"

"Oh yes, Jedi Shan. Many of the Padawan's, including myself, know all about you. Almost as much as we do about Master Revan." Selyne bowed slightly while her eyes never left Bastila's makeshift toga. "I see that much of what I heard was true."

"Selyne!" Revan snapped as Bastila flushed once more. "I will not have my Padawan talk like that to the woman I love!"

She turned to him, a sudden blush on her face. "Master?"

"That was rude and wrong. I don't want to have a padawan who hates my bond mate. If you wish to insult her ever again, I suggest you find a new Master to teach you."

"Master, I..." Selyne glanced at Bastila, then to Mission who frowned at her, and finally to Revan. "Master I... I apologise. I know I can be rash and impulsive. I... its something I'm trying to control, part of my nature."

Revan shook his head and crossed his arms. "You owe someone else an apology Selyne, not me."

Bastila gripped his hand tighter and shook her head. "That is unnecessary."

"No. Revan... Master Revan is right." Selyne licked her lips and then bowed deeply to Bastila. "Please forgive me, Jedi Shan. I... I suppose I should look up to you. After all, you managed to fight off the darkness, many have not."

Bastila, surprised by the young Padawan's abject apology, nodded and Selyne straightened. She turned to Revan and scuffed a toe against the metal decking.

"I... my questions can wait Master Revan. I... I need to go and mediate. If you would both excuse me?"

Revan nodded and Selyne scuttled out of the crew bunks as quickly as possible. Mission watched her leave and then turned to Revan. "What was that all about?"

"I have no idea..." He sighed and glanced at Bastila, who walked over to the bunk and sat down on it, an odd expression on her face. Revan turned to look at Mission. "Mish, could you give us some privacy?"

"Oh, sure Rev, sure." Mission walked out of the bunk room, only to have her head pop back in. "Um, did you mean what you said?"

"About?"

"Um, well me being a trusted person an all..."

Revan smiled. "Yes, I would trust you with my life, I would trust you with Bastila's life."

Mission blushed and she nodded. "Okay, I'll... I'll leave you alone now."

As her face left the bunk doorway, Revan turned back to his lover. Bastila sat with the same, neutral, expression on her face. He walked over to her and knelt down, placing a hand on her knee. "Bastila? My love?"

"So, the Padawan's of the Jedi order know all about me..." Revan watched her smile, while her eyes looked as if she wanted to cry. "I wonder what they say, really?"

"Selyne spoke out of turn." Revan muttered and he stood to sit next to her on the bunk. "But I'm sure it is the tale of how you fought off the darkside."

"Really? Do you believe that or are you trying to make me feel better?" Bastila asked him, her voice quiet and inflective. "Maybe they speak about our love and how it is forbidden by the Jedi code. Maybe they speak of how easily I fell, while Revan fought the darkness within. Maybe, just maybe, they think the council should have dismissed me..."

"So what if they do?" Revan slid a hand around her shoulders and she slipped into his lap gratefully. "I don't care what the Jedi order says. Anyway, Master Vandar knows, and he seems perfectly fine with it."

"Perhaps..." She sighed and shuddered, his skin smelled of him and the fragrant deodoriser he'd chosen to wear. "You smell good."

"Thanks," Revan stroked her hair softly and a sudden thought crossed his mind. "Bast?"

"Mmm?" She asked him, her fingers playing with the hem of his trousers, as she thought about what Selyne's words could have meant.

"Well, I was wondering...." He looked at her and sighed. "Would you like to stay with me tonight?"

"We lost our perfect moment." She muttered softly, but he could feel her thoughts drifting to what it would feel like to be next to him in bed. "I... I mean I want to but."

"Bas..." Revan pulled her up and slid the toga gently from her shoulders. "I meant just spending the night with me, together in bed."

Bastila blushed as he reached up and stroked her hair. She was so beautiful at that moment, and he wanted to just hold her, comfort her... wipe away any pain. With a smooth motion, he peeled off his robe and let it slip to the floor. Bastila watched... her breath slow, as he shrugged out of his under shirt and then unbuckled his trousers. She felt herself shudder and found that her gaze had become locked on his abdomen.

"Well?"

"I... I," She sighed and felt love trickle into her from the bond. "Yes... oh yes, Revan, I do."

"Good," He slid his hands to her belt, the only thing that stopped her own tunic from falling, and slowly began to undo the belt buckle. She found herself biting her lips as it fell to the floor with a gentle clatter of metal on metal, swiftly followed by the remains of her tunic.

"Come," Revan whispered and slid the bunks remaining blankets and sheets away from the pillow. "Come to me, Bastila, my love."

She walked gently towards him, watched as he slid into the soft sheets and gazed at her with inviting eyes. "No bad dreams tonight, for either of us."

With a shiver, Bastila slipped into the embrace of the sheets and sighed at their soft touch. She snuggled down into their embrace and let her head sink into the pillow. Revan's hand slipped around her, tightened as they felt her muscles slacken and she sighed. This was worth every thing that had happened to her. To just be with him, next to him and to feel his warmth made anything the council or Padawan's wanted to whisper, meaningless.

"Revan?" She asked him, a whisper as he dimmed the lights.

"Mmm?"

"I just want to say I... I would have let you make love to me." She felt a slight embarrassment as she admitted that to him. "It would have been a perfect moment."

"I know," Revan muttered, and he felt her mind slow and relax as his melded slightly with hers, shared his understanding and compassion. "I would have enjoyed every moment, would have remembered every touch, caress and whisper."

"I love you."

"I love you to, with all my heart." Her smile, at his remembrance of her words, warmed Revan's body and he kissed her. "Sleep, little princess, I'll keep the nightmares at bay, for both of us."

"I'll hold you to that...." She whispered, her eyes closing and her mind slowing, as sleep descended upon her.

"_Sleep_." Revan murmured in her mind, and he watched her quietly, felt her mind relax totally as she slipped slowly into dreams. He watched her until he was certain she was slumbering, and only then did he follow her gently.

Elsewhere, a cowled figure sat quietly watching the night sky. It turned to a small holo-comm and with a push of a button activated it. When the holo lit and another cowled figure appeared, a hint of smile was seen.

"My Master has commands for us?"

"I do," The figure whispered, its feminine voice tinged with icy laughter. "Prepare for Revan's arrival, my brothers of the Sith. It is time."

"As you command, Master."

The comm died and the cowled figure sat once more looking up at the stars, her hollow laughter filling the sky.

Continued in part 5: Shadow made reality.


	22. Revenant:Chapter 5: Shadows Made reality

Revenant 5: shadows made reality.

Revan: The past.

He stands, gazing at the vast display that the Star Forge projects.

"So, Revan... we are prepared to take these? The final steps?"

He turns and looks at his apprentice, Malak. It's been so long since they'd found the ruins on Dantooine.... Been so long since Malak had assumed the role of Apprentice and Revan had become the Dark Lord...

He used to feel remorse, even pity for what he had to do in the Mandalorian wars. Now, with this new war, against his onetime allies, he could only feel the thirst for power, victory and the need to discard the weak. Now, he looks up at Malak and sees the same, tinged with the desire to succeed him.

"Of course," he smiles, as Malak flinches slightly at the masks booming electronic voice. Of course the missing jaw that Revan had provided him with a few months back could also have been a factor. "But I am... concerned."

Malak pauses and stares at him, he can feel his gaze. "What about?"

"I had a vision a few months back, I never told you or anyone, due to its nature." he looks back to the display, feeling Malak's surprise. "It has... disturbed me greatly, and yet I am forced to await its outcome. I sense a conflict coming Malak, one that could spell doom for the Sith." he feels Malak' heart lurch. "For I will be betrayed."

"You will?" Malak stares at Revan, he can't know! He can't! "What was the vision?"

"A Jedi strike Force will board my vessel." he looks at Malak. "I want another squad of dark Jedi placed on the bridge of the Soulstrike! Also, you will join me on your own ship. I want to totally overwhelm this miserable little trap they have set for us and then root out he or she who organised this!"

"Very well," Malak sighs, Revan doesn't know and that relieves him. "Together we shall crush them. Then... on to the Republic."

"Yes, we shall." he smiles inwardly. "I saw Shan, their trophy Jedi. She will fight me..."

"And will lose, no doubt."

"I am uncertain. The world is clouded to me from that point...." He looks up at his apprentice and ponders. He has prepared for this moment, for every eventuality. Still, it worries him. He has to place trust in another, always hard for a Sith. "It is of no consequence, we shall crush them. Now, go and await our departure!"

"Yes... my Master."

Malak strides away, his eyes glowing with triumph. He was the one who received the information about this last ditch attack. He is surprised that the Jedi would send Bastila, a Padawan to fight them.... What possible use could she be? Also, why squirrel her away until now? Still, with all the distraction, it will be easy for him to fire on Revan's ship in the heat of battle.

"You can come out now. Stop skulking in the shadows, my little assassin." Revan turns to gaze at a shadow in the corner of the room. "What do you think?"

The shadow moves and a cloaked figure steps forward. The hood is drawn fully over its face, but the curves show it to be female. As she comes to a halt in front of Revan, she looks up. He can see only her eyes, faint glints in the dark of her hood.

"I think he may be the one, Master." She sighs. "Why won't you let me take care of him?"

"Because he is useful..." He looks at her and turns away. "If what I have foreseen, despite the shadows, occurs... you are ready to do what must be done?"

"You need to ask me that?" She sounds hurt. "I love you, Revan, or have you forgotten?"

"No, no I haven't." She needs to hear the words. "I love you too."

"I am ready, my love. All is prepared... all has been secured. Only I know our plans. But it will not come to that. The Force has shown you what can be averted, now that you know..."

"There are too many variables to prepare for, so I have to prepare for the worst as I refuse to let my Empire crumble!" He turns to her and smiles. "With what we found, you and I? I will be remembered forever, as the Lord who destroyed the Jedi!"

The Ebon Hawk, now.

Revan awoke suddenly, sweat pouring down his spine. He shuddered as the final gloating laughter of him... no, his past, echoed in his head. Had that been a memory, a dream or something else... a warning?

No, no, it had to have been a dream. He sighed and leaned back on the pillow. Maybe it had been a dream, mixed with fragments of his past life.

"_I.... He... Lord Revan couldn't have known that Bastila had laid a trap. If he had, he'd have killed her_." Revan sighed and glanced at the still slumbering form next to him. "_He wouldn't have bothered turning her... would he?_"

He knew he was fooling himself. If Malak had wanted her, Revan would too. She had been the Republic's last chance, though he hadn't known why back then. So he would have incapacitated her.

He sighed and another thought pushed itself into his mind. Who had been that female assassin his past self had talked to... could it have been the person he saw in the message? He didn't know and it disturbed him. Was he the cause of his own problem? If so, what did they gain from attacking him?

With an effort, he pulled himself away from such thoughts. He had been saved from the darkness, and Bastila was alive, well, and next to him. Whatever they had planned, he was aware of them now and could counter it. Especially with help form his friends, with the love of... her.

He turned to gaze at the sleeping, lightly snoring figure of Bastila and his concerned face blended into a faint smile. He gazed at her, watched as she gurgled slightly and turned her head on the pillow. She was deeply asleep, calm and at peace with herself, that Revan could tell through the gentle ebb and flow of her emotions.

She was so beautiful. Her smooth curves outlined under the soft sheets of his bunk. Her lustrous dark hair spilled on the pillow, free of the dual ponytails she usually tamed it in. Her firm lips, smooth and slack, curled in a faint smile. She was so, so beautiful.

Unable to help himself, Revan slowly slipped against her, spooning her gently from behind. Her curves slid against his tightly, and he smiled at her unconscious gurgle of pleasure. The warmth from her body slid into him, heating his skin and he sighed in pleasure. With a smile, he ran his hand along her stomach, and then across the side of her thighs, her strong, supple thighs.

"So beautiful. My strong, beautiful Jedi... I can't believe you gave yourself to me, little pup." He grinned, knowing how annoyed she was with that nickname, yet it suited her. With a proud smile, he continued to stroke her smooth skin. "I don't deserve you, at all. Such danger to put you in, such a fool!"

He watched her shift again, feeling her sudden surge of emotions as his own state slipped towards depression. Ashamed, Revan touched her soul gently, using the bond that had grown so strong. Using an ability that was more instinct that knowledge, he stroked it tenderly, soothing her back to sleep. She deserved this, a night of guiltless dreams.

She shifted again, pressing even tighter against him, and her lips parted with a quiet intake of air.

"Grhhm." She whispered sleepily. The dream she was immersed in, making her smile and shudder with pleasure. "Mmmm."

He smiled at her, felt the despair and misery inside him break so easily at her expression. She was, and would forever be, his reason for living. His Bastila, his... she'd given herself to him and had taken him for who he was, even though she knew his past.

She snorted again, and suppressed a chuckle as she turned slightly and he noticed that the pillow was damp from her saliva. A deep murmur, that he felt tremble into him, slipped from her as she wiggled around on the bedding. He smiled. Would she get cross if she knew she was such a noisy sleeper? Possibly, more than possible in fact... a certainty.

Gently, he pulled away from her and slid out of bed. She snorted, gripped the covers a little tighter and muttered again. He could feel her emotions spike suddenly as part of her realised her wasn't there, and he reached once more into her mind.

"Sleep Bastila," he whispered, soothing her soul and mind simultaneously. "I'll be close, you're safe and warm. Sleep and I'll be back soon."

Slowly, he stood, and watched as she gurgled slightly and curled into a tight ball. She was at peace once more, much to his relief. Quietly, Revan pulled on his new robes and walked gently from the room, his mind set on Caffa.

Mission sat at the holotable in the crew annex, her mouth full of fresh juba fruit, headtails weaving as she scanned the swoop-racing program in front of her.

"Hey, finally surfaced have ya?" She grinned. "Caffa's fresh, I did ya a favour and restocked."

Revan winked at her and slid two cups under the synthesiser. "Thanks."

"No prob, I know the Jedi princess likes a hot cup in the mornin."

"Mission," Revan stared at her until the young Twi'lek's head tails wiggled in embarrassment. "Clever young women don't use snide remarks."

"Sorry." She flushed and paid close attention to the fruit in her bowl.

Pulling the two hot cups from the machinery, Revan sipped his mug, while the second hovered in mid air. "Anything important crop up?"

"Um, nah." Unable to meet his eyes, Mission fixated on the swoop racing. "Juhani said she'll pop by later, she wants to see you. Umm, Carth says he'll meet up at the Council."

"Great." Revan sipped his caffa slowly, watching as her blush deepened as she felt his gaze. "Speaking of Jedi, where's Selyne?"

"Ah, she left a note." He heard the young girl's tone cool and winced inwardly. "She's gone to meditate alone, somewhere on Dantooine. Something about needing to think."

"She'll be absent during the Council meeting?" Revan sighed and shook his head. "Great. Some Padawan trainer I am! She should have realised how important this is... even if we did..."

"Ah, frell her!" Mission finally turned to stare at him and her eyes flashed. "Stuck up, prissy, Bantha herder!"

"Shhh," Revan sighed. "It wasn't your fault."

"I... damn!" Mission flushed and bit down hard on her spoon. "Sorry, really. I bet Bast was spitting poodoo!"

"She was fine, and no, she didn't blame you." Revan watched as she flinched at that, reluctant to show she'd even been worried.

"Right, right... I'll be away for a while, okay? The Aratech store has the latest swoop recordings from Dantooine and Mannan." She smiled faintly. "By the way, so far nobody's come close to your time on both tracks."

"Well, that's interesting to know. You be careful, even here."

"I will. Hey..." Mission waited for Revan to glance back at her. "How come I never got a cup of Caffa in bed?"

Turning carefully, the caffa mug sliding gently around him as he did so, Revan winked at the young woman, before walking gently back to his stirring lover.

Bastila's eyes slid open, gritty with sleep. She rubbed at them and sighed with delight. She was naked, warm and lying in soft clean covers. The side of the bunk was warm, Revan's heat still trickling into her, and she leaned back.

The scent of him, masculine, with a hint of smooth scent, wrapped itself around her. She closed her eyes, breathing in, and a smile curved onto her lips. She was safe, secure and happy... for the first time in years, Bastila Shan was content.

She rolled over and saw him, the person who had given her all she wanted, standing in the doorway, and smiling. Her eyes flitted to the chipped mug he held, steam rolling over the edge, and she sighed.

"Would that be caffa?" She murmured. "Because if it is caffa, then I could really use some."

"Hmm, funny you should say that." Revan grinned as she rose an eyebrow and another mug of caffa slipped past him, hovering in the grip of the Force. "Would said Jedi like it in bed?"

Bastila sighed and shook her head, before sitting up and nodding with a slight blush. "Such use of the Force is frivolous."

"Tell that to someone you didn't suspend and then flip over last night." He smiled as she reached out and took the streaming cup, the blush deepening. "Can I also say, that I would very much like to see this image every time I wake?"

"What image?" She asked him, sipping and groaning with pleasure. Extra strength and double sweet, just how she loved it. "I have no idea what you are talking abo... this is an excellent caffa."

"Thanks," Revan murmured, a smile playing on his lips. "But I was referring to the woman I love, in my bed, happy and content. Oh, and with just the hint of the scruffy 'just woke up' appeal."

"Revan, do you do this to try and make me blush?" Bastila asked him, her blue eyes flashing with amusement over the cup. "I am a Jedi, and that is going to be hard to do. As for how I look, well...." She paused and sipped her caffa, as he raised a single eyebrow at the sudden sensation of amusement that trickled into him. "You look dishevelled and half awake too... I like it."

"Why thank you." He grinned and moved across to the bunk, slid next to her. "Just for your information, the Council want us to convene in a few hours."

"Oh? That will give me plenty of time in the fresher and dress in clean robes then." She smiled and sipped. "I take it I do have some left in here?"

"In the dresser on your left, though you may want to pop to the fresher...." He grinned as she frowned, and ran a finger along her lip. "We got a little, sweaty before the... interruption."

"Hmmm, you know... you're not so fresh yourself, my love."

"Ahh, well... we could always use it together," he leaned towards her and smiled. "I could help wash your back... then you could wash mine."

"Revan, you are deliberately making me blush again." She shuddered with desire at his expression and shook her head. "I have to be in the Council building in three hours, you too. We cannot go in there all... emotionally charged."

"Spoilsport." He whispered and she smiled mirthlessly, her lower lip trembling. "Why not?"

"Because I want to try and maintain some dignity, and I can't do that if I constantly feel such desire." She watched as his eyes raised and a sense of amusement trickled into her. He had no idea, or if he did it wasn't enough, of how much his very presence affected her. "So, I shall use the fresher, on my own, and then do some meditation to help me maintain a calm mind when we meet the Council. I intend to hear this message that has you so foolishly worried

"Ah," Revan's face stiffened and Bastila felt a sudden spike of misery and worry slam into him. She cursed herself for the quick words, the unthinking way she'd said them. "I... I think that may be best actually."

He moved to leave, but she slid to her feet quickly, the caffa mug falling to the floor and spilling its contents with a metallic gurgle. "Revan, wait!"

"I should go, let you mediate."

"No, I want to talk to you. There are no secrets for us with the bond, especially when we are so close... Tell me, what is bothering you so? Why does this message make you so worried? We have dealt with far worse."

"I... I..." Revan stammered and slowly sank next to her. Unable to hold it back, he gazed at her and sighed. "At first it was the tone, the reasons why she chases me, that made me fear for you, for my friends. Their sole goal is to obtain me..." He looked at her, and slowly entwined his fingers with the hand she'd slipped into his for support. "As for Juhani, Mission and the others... they have no place in their plans. You... you do Bastila. I can't let them have you."

"Revan, I am capable of looking after myself. You may have saved me on the Star Forge, but even you will admit that was a special set of circumstances. With the knowledge that you love me, I refuse to walk the darkness again."

"I know, and that's not what they want you for. Bast... I'm frightened, for myself as well as you. I know you can look after yourself, but what if they do manage to capture us? What if they make me watch as they..." He paused, shuddered and let out a breath. "No, no I'm not going to let that happen. Vandar was right! Separated, I could possibly keep you out of danger for a little while. But they'll obviously go after you once they have me. Part of me knows we stand a chance, a good one too, of stopping them."

"You know we do," Bastila squeezed his fingers with hers, and deciding he needed her, leaned into him. Her soft lips slid onto his and he felt them slowly part, felt her warm breath enter him, her smooth tongue caress his. Slowly, Bastila sat back. "I do not care what they intend for you, me or any of our colleagues. You and our friends have defeated Malak. Together, we can defend against the brotherhood."

"Its the part that cares for you, Bast... I still dream of the wounds I inflicted, trying to keep you back." Revan touched her arms, ran his hands unerringly over the areas of skin he knew once carried sabre burns. As he did so, he expected her to dance out of the way, only to find her smooth, muscular curves between his hands. "I know you are skilled with your lightsabre, I know that you are more than capable of defending yourself.... But I can't help it, I love you too much to not worry."

She looked at him, her ocean blue eyes dancing with tenderness, with a reflected need to touch. " I know you want to protect me, I do. But I am a warrior, you know this... part of you does." She sighed and slipping her arm out of his grasp touched his face. "Force help me, Revan, I love you and I hope you can trust me, trust my skills, to stay out the way. This feeling scares me more than I care to admit, even to you."

"I love you too, Bastila." His right hand slipped into her smooth hair, unbound and silky, while his left reached up to trace her soft lips. "Love's a scary business, that much I know to be real, from all my fake memories. Scary, but possibly the best thing to ever feel... to make you feel alive."

"Revan," Bastila murmured her lips close to his once more. "My Revan, mine."

His lips traced hers delicately, and he could feel the deep pulse of her heart, the rushing exhilaration slipping from her as the bond they held burst into glorious life once more. "_Bastila..._" He moved to kiss her.

"Ahem," a sudden soft, exotic voice whispered gently from the doorway. The two Jedi paused in mid kiss, in mid undress, and Bastila's head bumped into his shoulder.

"Revan, why does this keep happening to us?" her voice whispered to him. "All I ask for is one moment, with you. Is that too much for me to be granted?"

Revan sighed and, twisting on the bed, looked towards the doorway. There, standing awkwardly, her fur raised and a blush on the skin under it, Juhani gazed at the wall, the fresher door... anywhere but directly at them.

"I... I apologise, I... I should have knocked." She took a step back. "I... we should go and wait for you in he crew lounge. Revan, I... I am sorry for interrupting such a tender moment. Bastila, please forgive me."

"You are here now, Juhani." She forced a smile, steeled her nerve, and beckoned the Cathar in. "I have to say, that it is good to see you. But I have to use the fresher, so please, excuse me."

Revan watched as Bastila slid to her feet and walked quickly, but still with that inbred dignity, towards the refresher. As the door closed with a quiet click, he felt her reach for him. "_That was most embarrassing_!"

"_You handled it well, my little pup_." He sent back, feeling her amusement and irritation blend into a mental groan. "_Sorry. Look I think Juhani needs to talk to me in private. So, I'll be in the crew lounge and leave you to indulge yourself." _He slid to his feet and began to walk towards the Cathar

"_Go and see what she needs, I'll be out soon_."

Revan smiled and turned to the Cathar. With a small nod, he waved a hand at the door and, as Juhani smoothly slipped past him, walked with her into the corridor.

Yuthura gingerly sat on the young Twi'lek's bed and avoided her cheerful smile and searching eyes. The way she was feeling at the moment, cheerful conversation was the last thing she desired to enter into.

All she wanted was to see Revan. Once that was done, she intended to crawl into her bed at the Enclave and sleep. She was tired, and her head was still throbbing.

Jedi medical centre... a few hours ago.

The morning had been horrific to wake up to. She'd awakened, from terrible nightmares, memories of her past, to a splitting headache. It had been a sheer agony that wouldn't stop. Her gasps of pain had brought Juhani immediately to her side, and she'd shot her full of neural blockers to dampen the spikes of pain.

The two Jedi that Juhani had called in, those who had rebuilt her shattered mind, had sighed when she'd explained what she felt.

"Yes, we feared this may happen." Fara glanced at Juhani. "So much damage, so hard to heal and mend. Yuthura, you may have these attacks of pain for some months..."

"Why am I having them?" She'd asked, trying to keep the stammer, the sign of weakness, from her voice. "And will this be permanent?"

"We... don't know." Fara muttered and she sighed at Yuthura's pained expression. "I am so sorry, Jedi Ban. We did what we could, but even that you know who you are, that you have almost all of your memories back, is a miracle in itself."

"Tell me, please." She'd managed the words, felt them like acid on her tongue. Fara had sighed and gazed at her, as if judging her emotional state.

"Very well. The fractures in your mind were deep, very deep. It is a miracle you can talk as you do now, as I have already said. The pain you are experiencing is due to the fractures healing on their own."

"I thought you had managed to heal them?" Juhani asked, quietly.

"We managed to heal the fractures by linking them together with our Force concentration." Fara agreed. "However, it is up to your mind to heal the fractures permanently. This may cause you a lot of pain now and again, but you may take drugs to counter it, if you wish. I'll give you a prescription for some that should dull the pain."

"Can I...." Yuthura paused, dreading the question she wanted to ask. She'd shown so much weakness over the past few days... must have, that she felt ashamed. Even though she knew it was a holdover from her time with the Sith, what she had told Revan was true. It was so hard to let it go. "Can I use the Force? Will I be able to use the Force again?"

Fara stared at her for longer than Yuthura felt comfortable with, and glanced at her male companion. Both looked worried.

"We would... request that, for the next few weeks at least, you do not attempt to try and focus the Force other than to heal your mind." Fara watched her face twist in fear, and then mask itself quickly. "While we are both confident that you will recover fully, and have no lasting side effects of your... Sith incarceration, we urge you to take care. The Force caused the fractures, and until they heal, we have no idea what will happen if you try and use the Force as a Jedi. There may be many problems, ones which you may have to deal with, and others that you may need assistance with."

Yuthura nodded feeling weak and useless. In the background of her mind, from the darkness that she had so forcefully rejected, something sighed in disgust.

"_You are weak... how can I be any part of you_!"

She flinched, looking around in sudden shock. Fara, her gaze fixed on Yuthura's face frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"I... Master healer, may I speak to you in private?"

"_Oh great, more pathetic mewling!_"

Yuthura watched as the male healer and Juhani, who left reluctantly, casting a worried frown over her shoulder, left the room. She sighed and looked up at Fara, who stared at her with compassion.

"Is there something wrong?"

"_Yes, tell the foolish lightsider all your problems_."

"I.... I think something is wrong with me... that it wasn't a success."

"You do seem worried. What is it?"

"I..." Yuthura licked her lips and judged Fara's expression. "I... I keep hearing this voice, in my head. It's cold, scathing... cruel. I know this sounds crazy but..."

She trailed off at Fara's apprehensive expression. The healer was pale, but she shuddered and fixed her with a compassionate smile. "I do not think you are crazy, Jedi Ban."

"_She doesn't? What a shame... I was wondering if you'd have to run_."

"What's happening to me?"

"I have only seen this once, in all my time as a healer." Fara sat next to her and folded her hands. "It was a patient, like you, who had been attacked with the dark side by a Sith Master. Her mind had shattered, not as badly as yours, but badly enough that she required our help. We healed her mind... but she was terrified after a few days."

"Why?"

"She told me, in private as have you, that she could hear a voice, taunting her. My fellow healers and myself performed various mental disciplines with her and found something most disturbing. The attack had caused large cracks, like yours, and had also allowed the darker side of her mind to grow in power."

Yuthura stared at Fara in horror. Was the healer telling her what she thought she was. "You mean..."

"What you hear, what I think you can hear, is your dark side. The tiny kernel that is left, that resides in all of us."

Yuthura nodded, remembering Uthar's various speeches to the new recruits at the academy about "feeding the seed". She shivered, the memories of her past life still affected her.

"_Weakling! They were glorious! WE were glorious! Yuthura Ban, Sith Master and soon to be Master of the whole academy. Students trembled in fear at one glance from us! How can that horrify you? That is who you were, who you are_!"

"No!" She snapped and Fara jumped suddenly. The healer stared at her with worry and Yuthura closed her eyes, willing her composure to return. "I am sorry, it..."

"Spoke to you?" Fara shook her head. "This is my fault, I should have seen this coming. You were too much like the previous patient, even more shattered. I am so sorry... If I'd remembered, we may have been able to... to do something!"

"No, I refuse to have you blaming yourself for this. Can.... Can anything be done for me? What happened to the previous patient?"

"Oo_ohhh, good question_!"

"She," Fara swallowed and looked away. "She was unable to stand what it whispered to her. We taught her some techniques to drown it out, to quieten it, but she couldn't stand it. She... she joined the Sith not too long after."

"No...." Yuthura went pale as laughter echoed in her mind. "I do not want to go back, cannot go back!"

"I have hopes that you will be different." Fara sighed and looked at her seriously. "Honestly? I hope that you will be able to drown it out long enough for the cracks left to heal themselves once more. If they do, then I hope that the darkness inside you will be healed as well, unable to affect you directly."

"Why?"

"Because you were a Sith! You know its temptations."

"That does not make me immune, it makes it harder to resist!" Yuthura stared at her, found she was unable to take the snarl out of her tone. "I know about the power that the dark side offers... the need that it creates! How do I fight that? How do I fight myself?"

"I can teach you, help you with a few techniques to calm your mind, defend against the voice when you need it most. But I have faith in you, in your strength of will... I know about your past Jedi Ban, I know how strong willed you are, I believe you can fight this and win."

"_We shall have to see, won't we my dear_."

"Please," Yuthura swallowed the feeling of guilt, of disgust that welled up. "I need... I need your help!"

"Very well, I shall teach you one technique now, we can go over others in more detail later." Fara glanced at the door. "May I make a suggestion?"

"Of course."

"Tell Juhani. Tell her what is happening."

Yuthura paled, her skin fading to a faint purple. "I can't tell her..."

"Out of all of us, she will be the most understanding. She fought free of the dark side once, like you. She knows the lure, the need it creates. Talk to her."

"I... I will." Yuthura nodded and sighed. "So much trouble."

"Let us begin. Once you have learned the discipline, Juhani can take you for a walk around the Enclave. I would suggest a light meal as well, mental healing through the Force saps nutrients from the body at a terrible rate. I will also prescribe some powerful pain blockers for you to take if another metal spike should happen to you."

The present.

Now she sat on the bed of the young Twi'lek, avoiding her gaze. Unfortunately, the young girl seemed interested in her for some reason.

"So, you feel any better?" Mission asked, her tone light.

"Mmhmm." Yuthura managed, as a tiny part of her, the darkness that remained, wanted to slap the young Twi'lek. She shivered. No, a Jedi did not have such thoughts, but why was this Twi'lek girl being so nosy.

"I suppose ya don't remember me." Mission leaned against the wall and stared at Ban with compassion. "Mind you, from what I remember, I ain't exactly surprised."

"What? No... I, no I don't remember you." Yuthura stared at her, and as she did so, the young girl's features became... familiar. "I... you? I can't... I don't."

She hissed and a hand rapped against her forehead. Mission's eyes went wide as she suddenly let out a savage curse in her native Sleheyron, a sharp almost hissing snarling language. The young girl took a step back.

"Hey, take it easy, I was just being friendly." Mission frowned as Yuthura continued to shake her head, a look of anger marring her face. "Yuthura, what is it? What's the matter?"

"I should remember you, that's the matter!" Yuthura muttered, her brief anger, spent. "After all you know me."

"Well, I met you twice. Once at the academy, when I was a 'slave' to Rev." Mission watched as Yuthura's expression became troubled. "The second was when I helped rescue you from that pit of a bar."

"You?" Yuthura whispered horror tingeing her voice. "I was rescued by a child?"

"_Oh how the mighty have fallen_!" The voice whispered suddenly, full of glee.

"Hey! Less of the kid remarks! I'm nearly fifteen years old!" Mission sniffed. "You'd still be clamped to that torture rack they had you on if it, like, weren't for me!"

"But, but you're so young!" Yuthura felt shame run though her, to be rescued by a child! She felt the darker side of her laugh, spiteful and cold. "I... you came with Juhani?"

"Yeah, Revan's plan." Mission leant against the wall, her lekku waving with recall. "Man, I have no idea how you survived to be rescued. Gotta admit Yuthura, that place was worse than Daviks slave pits, an that's sayin something! I mean, you survived all that, an whatever those sick pervs did to you, for long enough so we could rescue ya." Mission sighed and smiled. "I didn't like you at first, but I was wrong. I... I was glad to come and help you escape, y know?"

Yuthura stared at the young girls face, stared as her lekku radiated honesty. "You... you think I was brave?"

"_Shows how much she knows then_." Yuthura blinked at the sound of her own darkness and inwardly pushed the laughing voice away, using the meditation Fara had taught her. "_I'll be back_!"

"Heck yeah! Strong too." Mission smiled and leaned forwards slightly. "I'm glad you're here. After all, anyone can turn away from the dark side, look at Revan and Juhani."

"What about Juhani?" A furry voice purred gently as Revan and Juhani stepped into the room. "Have you two been discussing me?"

"You? Na." Mission smiled and winked at Yuthura, who stared in puzzlement. "I was just saying that it's good to see Yuth there, turning her back on all that evil darkness stuff."

"I..." Yuthura licked her lips, the words she wanted to say difficult to get out. "Thank you for saving my life, for protecting me when I could not."

"Hey, don't worry about it. After all I was, like, with Juhani the whole time. It was her swoop race, not mine. Look at me as her partner in rescues." Mission grinned and turned to Revan, ignoring Juhani's puzzled expression. "Rev, I've gotta jet. Those vidchips I talked about? I just heard on the holonet that they're about to go on sale."

"Fine, but the don't forget about the Council meeting."

"I won't. See you guys later!"

Revan watched Mission skip happily from the room and he shook his head. Turning to Yuthura, he smiled at her. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I... I wanted to thank you personally for rescuing me from that Sith slavery bar." Yuthura gripped the bed carefully, still shaky from the abuse and exertion to heal herself since being rescued. Slowly, she slipped down onto one knee and her Lekku coiled behind her head in a display of obedience. "I want to pledge my life to you Revan, as I should do. You have saved me twice now. Once from my own foolish need for power and this time, from those I once served unthinkingly. I thank you, my life is yours to command!"

"No!" Revan spoke quickly, shocks and fear in his voice. He sighed and helping her to her feet shook his head. "Yuthura, I don't want you to owe me anything, you don't owe me anything!"

"I have to give my life in service to someone, I should do! Juhani will not take it, as she feels it is part of this foolish debt she feels she owes me!"

"I do, and it is not foolish." Juhani's yellow eyes gazed softly at her. "You attempted to save Belaya in my stead. You did what I should have done, in my race it is that simple. You do not owe me anything, and until you are fully healed, I will protect you to the best of my abilities."

"Revan you see? Please, let me give you the only thing of worth I have at the moment!"

"Yuthura, you would make me feel far happier if you just concentrated on getting better. Force knows that they managed to almost kill you on Contara base. So, I want you to do what I know Juhani has been asking, and that's to get better."

Juhani smiled faintly at Yuthura. "You see?"

"Oh, Jedi are impossible!" Yuthura snapped, only to have the two with her both smile at once. "I come here to try and repay a debt, and you two refuse to accept there is any!"

"That's right. Now, I suggest you head back to your quarters and get some sleep. I know how much of an effort this has been for you."

"I...." She paused, realising that Revan's expression was the same as Juhani's. With a reluctant sigh, she wobbled to her feet. "Very well."

"I shall help her return to her quarters," Juhani bowed slightly to Revan and with her usual quick feline grace slid an arm around Yuthura. "I shall return shortly to go with you."

"Take your time." Revan told them both and with a nod at Yuthura walked out of the berth.

"_S'ktach!_ Why will no one accept my pledge? Especially you!" Yuthura sighed as Juhani helped her walk out of the bunkroom. For some reason, Juhani knew that she needed to feel as though she was capable herself, and so the Cathar held her tightly enough not to fall, but lightly enough so that she felt she was the one walking. "I want to give you something of worth Juhani!"

"I do not want your life pledged to me, not this way." Juhani murmured as she escorted her along the landing bay. "As I said in there, I owe you a debt for being with Belaya."

"You are so stubborn! Like him!" She snapped, annoyed. Juhani smiled.

"That may be one of the most complimentary things said about me by another. But enough of this, you need rest Jedi Ban."


	23. revenant:chapter5:part2

Revenant5: The shadows Within.

Bastila stepped out of the refresher with a sigh. It had been cramped in there, and washing with Sonics always left her with a slightly itchy sensation, as though her skin was left quivering by them. Regardless, she felt clean and refreshed. Revan still hadn't returned from wherever Juhani had yanked him, and she hummed as she glanced at his bunk.

"_Still the same Revan_," she thought fondly. "_Well, it has only been a few weeks since I saw him last. What was I expecting_?"

However, even as her mind wandered over this, her soft blue eyes caught sight of a small transparent plastisteel tube sitting on the small shelf above it. It was new, and it gleamed.

"_I do not remember Revan having this before I left_..." Bastila frowned and with a quick glance around, lifted the tube gently down. She stared at it, her fingers trailing across the smooth surface. The controls set into its base made her frown. "_Why would Revan have a holotube in his room? What would he use it for?_"

A sudden click, as her finger accidentally hit the activation button, had her biting her lip in dismay. Even as she tried to hit the off switch, the tube lit with a bright glow. In the shimmering light of the tube she saw the flickering image of a girl of four, dark haired, blue eyes, grinning at someone. A sudden voice had her eyes fill with tears.

"_Okay princess... try again for daddy_!"

"_Yes daddy... _" The little girl glanced around, absently twisting her hair with her little fingers and then launched into a song.

"_There once was a lazy Rodian, who was green, happy and full... Said the Twi'lek neighbour 'You should work for your food. Cause when the cold it comes, there will be no food_!'"

Bastila stared at the image, her breath coming in sudden heaving gasps.

"_The Rodian was lazy, didn't want to work, ate an drank while it all grew an grew_." She watched as the girl scuffed her foot against some pebbles and grinned. "_But when winter came there was no food! He begged an he pleaded but they all said no! The poor little Rodian, he shivered and froze. Til the warmth came back, and more food grew. The little lazy Rodian he worked for his food_!"

"_Well done princess, well done_!" The male voice on the recording laughed and the little girl started to giggle. Slowly the image faded.

Bastila clutched the tube tightly... feeling the tears that had trickled down her cheek wet her skin. She sniffed and gently placing the holotube on the tiny table next to the bunk wiped her eyes with her towel.

"That was a present from your mother, Bast." Revan's voice echoed into the room, soft and gentle. He watched as she turned away, as her shoulders shook. He sighed... So brave, so stubborn. "Well, the recording anyway. I had to buy the tube from one of the stop off planets, but the recording is one of the few Helena has left."

Bastila turned to him, feeling embarrassed and ashamed. "She gave it to you? Revan, I am sorry, I was just curious and when I was looking at it my finger it, well..."

He held up a hand. "I was going to have the bottom inscribed for you, as it really belongs to you."

"What?" Bastila blinked and her she felt her lips tremble. "Me?"

"There was a little message with it, attached to the text file." Revan walked up to her and slipped one hand around her waist as he slid open a tiny compartment and yanked a pad from it. "Here, she wanted you to have it..."

Bastila's eyes trailed to the pad and flicked over the message written there.

_Young man, I can never truly repay you or my daughter for both the peace and chance at life you have both given me. You've made a bitter woman very happy, far happier than she deserves. _

_I... I found this, rummaging through my belongings they have just brought me from Tatooine. Such a miserable collection, all my jewellery is gone, as is anything I felt I could sell... that I could part with. But I did find something._

_I forgot I had this, my small box, sealed when Bastila left us, sealed to keep me from feeling any remorse, any pain. I was a fool, and I let my bitterness fester when my hero of a daughter never answered any of my comms... I know now that she probably never got them._

_I have sent you something from that box. The rest I will keep until Bastila and you come back. When you do, I want Bastila to have it... I think she deserves it, and I hope she'll share it with you. The gift is attached to this message as a data block, you'll need a holotube to see it, a small token of thanks, to both of you... a reminder that I think of you both._

_Take care of my daughter, please._

_Helena Shan._

Bastila stared at the words as they fuzzed on the screen, felt her fingers chill. It was only the sudden warmth of Revan's hands wrapping around her that made her look up.

For almost all her life, she'd hated her mother. Always believed that Helena had discarded her, pulled her away from her father. It had left a bitter scar inside her, and that had festered for too long. She had never sought her out, never tried to contact her mother at all, and now she wondered if it was due to the beliefs of the Jedi, or if she used that to convince herself.

"So many years lost..." She whispered, feeling the bitter guilt, hidden for her mother's sake, because of her illness, contained in those memories. "I was such a fool."

Revan stood there, unable to answer. He knew that if he told her it was untrue, to Bastila it would be a lie. He gripped her tightly, felt the bitter pain running into her.

"You know, I wonder what she thought of me... for all those years?"

"Bast..."

"Heh, probably some stuck up Jedi, too busy to care about anything. She'd be right."

Revan groaned. "Stop it. Come on, that's unfair."

"She, she never forgot me. But I forgot her. Then along you come and.... and solve it. All those years of... hate. The huge chasm... gone." Bastila stared at the tube and suddenly felt something bitter stir inside her... aimless, no reason to pin it on. "She gave this to you... because she couldn't trust her spoiled daughter with it."

Revan stared at her, speechless as she stared at the tube. "Bastila... pup."

"Oh stop it!" Bastila turned to him, irritation on her face. "I know my own sins, and all that lost time is some of it. I know I have you to thank, for giving that back... but there still remains a rift. Part of her still sees me as a child."

"I..."

"She gave you the tube! Not me." Bastila frowned at the angry snap and pulled her voice back to a whisper. Her gaze returned unwillingly to the tube. "Despite her intentions, she gave it to you... not to me."

"She didn't know where you were!" Revan watched as she placed the tube back in his cupboard. As she stepped back he reached in slowly and took it out again. "It's a lovely gift Bastila, take it."

"My mother gave it to you, you keep it!" She snapped again, angry with herself and taking it out on him. "I... by the Force, all the lost time between us! A rift doesn't heal in a few months!"

"No, but I know you two will be alright." Revan watched as Bastila trembled slightly. "Bast?"

"I... you... why do you always try to save me?" She looked at him, lips thin. "I... Revan I... By the Sith!"

Revan coughed and shook himself, unable to stand the upset that pulsed through the bond and into him. "No Emotion, only peace... serenity."

"If only it were that simple." Bastila whispered. "If only it were that easy. To repeat that I have emotion, yet I have peace. But it is not, and my guilt and my own stupid anger with my mother... with myself, remains. My relationship with Mother is upsetting to me. Even when mother was alone in the hospital, I could not find the courage to ask her about her thoughts "

"I wish I had an answer or I could think of one, but then maybe that's the problem... I always do." He watched as she turned to gaze at him, felt her sudden irritation cool to embarrassment. "I have to remember you don't need rescuing."

"Revan, please." Bastila placed a hand against the locker set into the bunk, and tried to ignore the shaking of her hand. "Please... I didn't mean that you..."

"Yes, you did." He felt his own irritation spike, and saw her wince at the reaction her own loss of control had caused him. "We can discuss it later."

"I..." She watched him walk to her dress locker and pause next to it. "Revan, I didn't mean to imply you coddle me... or that I do not realise the terrible risk you went through to save my life." Bastila shivered and ran a hand through her hair, forcing the aimless bitterness away for a little while. " I am useless at this, I really am..."

"Bast..."

"Now I have offended you, my love, with my quick and stupid words." She watched his face soften slightly and plunged on. "I love you, always will. I'm sorry, you were a target, over my guilt with Mother. Not us..."

"I wish I could believe you," Revan whispered, even as the bond pulsed between them, carried her buried bitterness. "But I know otherwise. You do have issues with... with that. We'll talk about this later."

"Revan, please..."

"Would you mind getting dressed soon? We do have to go and see the Council." Unable to hide the reaction to the upset in his voice, Bastila felt her body tremble. "We can... discuss this in private later, for as long as you wish. I... I did have another surprise for you."

Bastila stared at him, felt the shame sink lower and turn to guilt. "A surprise?"

"Yes, It's in here." Revan gestured to the locker holding her clothes. I know now may not be the time, but I still want to give it to you."

"Oh," Bastila hesitated for a few seconds and then slowly crossed to the small recessed lockers. With a gentle snick, her fingers slid open the one that she knew contained her spare clothes and she stepped back in shock. There, clean, immaculate and pulsing with Force, lay a pristine Jedi robe, the lightside pouring from its aura. Reaching out, she caressed the fabric, recognised it and turned.

"Revan!" She began, only to find him leaning against the door jam. He stared at her with cloaked eyes. "I... these cannot, should not, be for me!"

"To be honest, I can't think of a more deserving Jedi." He watched her flinch, as his words struck home, and he sighed. "I want you to have them."

"I fell!" She managed. "Besides, my outburst shows how little control I still have! Even with Jolee helping me cannot control myself. I... I do not deserve to wear Qel-Droma's robes! They are for shining examples of Jedi."

"Bast. To me, to Juhani... to many Padawan's... you are a shining example." He watched her face tremble and shiver. "They know you fell, and yet you fought the darkness inside yourself. What's even more impressive? That you did it while the Star Forge held you tightly. Lord Revan wasn't as strong!"

"Stop praising me," she whispered, her voice tinged with horror and the regret that still lingered. She bit her lip and clamped down on her foolish bitterness. "I almost killed you back then and.... yes, you saved me that day and I am grateful for that and what we have.."

"Bast... I..." Revan sighed inwardly as he felt her step back from her bitterness, and walked up to her. He reached out and slid a hand onto Bastila's towel. "I want you to have them, and as you seem so reluctant."

"Revan!" She managed, before the towel hit the metal deck with a quiet flap. She shivered, but she didn't cover up. "What will this prove?"

"That I love you, that I want you to have these." He slid a hand around her reluctant wrist, slid up one of the robe's sleeves. "That you are Bastila Shan, Jedi, but even more than that. Because... no matter how much we clash, I love you and you love me."

She shivered as the robes slipped inch by inch onto her skin. It was wrong, she didn't deserve them. But Revan's face was so sad, her words still so obviously biting into him, that she let the fabric slip onto her. Bastila sighed, expecting the robes to be useless to her, but she reached out with the Force and her eyes widened in shock.

"I... I, these are amazing!" She whispered, as her Force senses exploded with focus, with clean, calm power. "I... Revan."

"Take them, wear them." He smiled so softly, so sadly, that she felt her heart flutter. "I've got to get ready. HK47 is guarding the only copy of the message and I should get there ahead of everyone else. I promise you, as soon as this is all done, you can tell me how you want me to act the next time we end up in trouble."

She watched as he walked out of the bunkroom. Ensuring she was alone, Bastila stroked the fine fabric and cursed in Deralian. The robes were an object of the light, and she could feel it... she could feel it. Maybe Revan was right, she was still a Jedi. But, even so, she felt guilty.

"_Idiot... why did I say that to him? He can be possessive, protective to me yes, but never overly so. Oh, Bastila Shan, you have got to control yourself... Remember, emotion yet peace... chaos yet serenity._" Unable to help herself, Bastila picked up the holotube once more and stared at it, at herself. "_Mother, what do I do? What do I say? Oh, why fool myself? He does protect me and in my mind... far too much... far too often. I am a Jedi, I will always be in harms way, as much as he will. We have to find a balance, or I shall always be coddled... protected by him. I do not wish that_."

She loved him, knew it deeply in her heart... but even so, his need to keep her totally from harm was beginning to split them apart.

"_Is it because I fell? Is it because he thinks deep down, where I refuse to go... that I am weaker and need help?_" With another sigh, she slipped the robes off herself and rummaged in the drawers for an undershirt. "_I cannot believe that... He is right, we will have to find a way... together._"

Jedi Council room: New Jedi Enclave.

"Ah, Revan, Bastila... I see you have brought your group with you." Vandar, his wrinkled green face smiling slightly, tapped the floor with his walking stick. "As this could very well affect you all, it may be best."

Revan's eyes flicked around the large all of the Council chambers. It like the rest of the currently rebuilding Enclave, was new... he could smell the drying permacrete.

Bastila stood next to him, quiet... thoughtful. He could feel her lingering guilt over her attack, mingling with the bitterness she let seep past her defences. Even as he watched her, observed the blue eyes flicking across the room, their friends, and then to him... and pause, his mind constantly snapped back to one thought.

"_What if she's right? What if I am over protecting her? If I am, then am I doing the same thing to the others_?"

Unable to find an answer, his own eyes broke the gaze and flicked across his other friends.

Juhani stood with her inherent agility, in the centre of the room. Her own yellow eyes took everything in, but yet she was obviously thinking about other things as much as him.

Jolee stood to one side, interested but separate and, next to him, Mission slouched against the wall at the back of the chamber.

Next to her, was Canderous. The Mandalorian had strolled up to Revan as he had made his way to the Council, and grinned at him as he puffed on a ciggara, Now, he also slouched against the wall and stared with hard eyed interest at the Jedi around him.

"We await one more addition at Admiral Dodonna's request." Vandar told Revan quietly and Revan frowned. "She should be here directly."

"Very well, Master," Revan nodded quietly. "Oh, Padawan Selyne sends her regrets. She has been requested by one of the Padawan's to assist her in sabre construction and basic combat. She will not be present for this meeting, but I'll fill her in later."

"Ah, I see." Vandar smiled. "I am pleased that the Coruscant Council saw fit to issue with your own Padawan Revan."

"Hmph, I do not agree Master Vandar." Vrook, his wrinkled face locked in a scowl, glared at Bastila and Revan. "How can you hope to teach Selyne that which she needs to know when you cannot follow our own code?"

"Master Vrook..." Bastila began, her face turning red, but Revan reached out into the bond and soothed her into silence.

"Maybe you're right Master Vrook. However, I never asked for Selyne to be my Padawan, but she is here now, and I will guide her if I can." Vrook opened his mouth but shut it again as Revan gazed at him. "I admit that I cannot, will not, be able to follow the Jedi code to it's full letter. However, I can only bring myself to believe that the code is the starting point to something greater. Something that helps Jedi cope with emotion rather than repress it."

"Revan, you have not even attained Master yet, and you think you can decide what to follow and how?" Vrook shook his head. "Such pride, such arrogance."

"Heh, I think Revan's doing fine the way he is." Jolee grunted from his position at Revan's side. Vrook stared at him and frowned. "Every Jedi has to find their own path. I say that we let Revan and Bastila find their own way."

"They are emotionally involved, that is dangerous for Jedi. Look at what happened to Bastila, she attacked Malak with no logical thought at all."

"Master, Malak would have killed Revan if I had not done something. I... I could not stand by and let my bond mate die!" Bastila felt her spine stiffen. This was too much like Coruscant. "Yes I love him, but is that such a terrible thing?"

Vrook glared at the two Jedi, only to have Vandar interrupt them by tapping his cane once more.

"Master Vrook, this has been discussed on Coruscant already. The Council there saw no reason to punish our two young Jedi. The Force decreed a bond would be formed, the Force decreed that Bastila would sacrifice herself out of duty and love, and it lead her to the dark side, yes."

"All the more reason to..." Vrook snapped, his gravely voice severe.

"Peace Vrook. Let me finish, please. Despite the lure of the darkness, Bastila was brought back to the light by one thing. We can argue and disagree with Revan and Bastila's decision to try and understand their feelings, but it cannot be refuted that it was their love that saved her. Is this not so Bastila?"

"Yes," Bastila whispered, her lips trembling slightly. "I cannot deny what I feel, Master Vandar. It would be unfair to you, to the Council, to Revan and.... to me." She glanced at Revan and, despite their current problems, felt his strength flow into her. "I love Revan, Masters and I will be with him, if he wishes it, for the rest of my life."

"Bastila, you know how close you came to being lost forever to the darkness. How can you stand there and let your passions flow for Revan?"

"Passion is not the same as love, Master Vrook." Bastila bowed her head, and bit her lip. "Love is very different to passion. I can only say that it saved me from the darkness... it did not condemn me. I... I am sorry if this is not what you wanted to hear Masters but I..."

"No apologies are needed young Bastila. None are needed from any of you." Vandar smiled at her and glanced over at Vrook's stern disapproval. "The Council on Coruscant, as you have said Bastila, has already dealt with this matter. If they had nothing to say about these turn of events, then nor do I."

Revan glanced at the two new members of the Council. He recognised Jestra, a female Twi'lek who was skilled in data sifting. She had been given Master Dorak's job as archiver. She was a quiet Jedi, skilled, intelligent, and compassionate. As he stared at her, she smiled slightly at him and bowed surreptitiously. No, she had no problem with Bastila or himself.

The Master that had taken Master Zhar's place was a male Zabrak called K'rtirr. Zhar had been an excellent teacher, unequalled. Despite this, Revan respected the Zabrak and hoped that, while K'rtirr would frown upon his decision to control and feel, rather than repress, his emotions, he would respect it.

Vrook shook his head, but his grunt was one of capitulation. "Very well, but I still say that it is too dangerous for all Jedi to follow your example. That in mind, I ask you keep this between yourselves, not to discuss it with the Padawan's. Selyne will, I hope, also be included."

"That may be best," Vandar sighed and nodded reluctantly. "How you interpret the code is a matter for your conscience, but I have to agree that the Padawan's must know the code as it is, before they find their own path."

Revan glanced at Bastila, and bowed. "Of course Master, that should pose no problem."

A sudden commotion at the entrance to the Council chambers made the group look round, only to see Captain Denara walk quickly into the room, a flushed expression on her face.

"I... apologise. I was distracted by other matters at hand last night and fell asleep far too late. I... I am sorry for being late and holding you all up."

"It's fine Captain," Revan smiled at her, even as Bastila cocked an eyebrow. "It's good to see you again, but why are you here?"

"I can answer that," Vandar smiled slightly as all eyes turned to him. "Captain Denara has been transferred to the Spirit as officer in charge of the Soldier and Marine contingent aboard her. Dodonna felt it was the perfect way to reward her heroic defence of the Taris supply run against many Dark Jedi."

"I can say that I'm pleased anyway." A familiar voice echoed around the chamber and Revan turned to it with a grin. Even as he did so, he heard Mission squeak with delight.

"Carth! Ya wrinkled old Bantha herder!" She ran up to him and hugged the old soldier tightly. Carth grinned and squeezed back.

"Good to see you Mission, you too Revan. All of you." Carth nodded to all of them, even Canderous who inclined his head respectfully.

"Onasi" His deep voice held no scorn, he'd grown to respect Carth since the Leviathan, the man had taken out Saul one on one, as Revan and Bastila had fought the dark Jedi.

"Admiral Onasi has been ordered to assist you on this mission as well." Vandar smiled. "Although the Hawk is... admirably fast, Dodonna requested that we allow you to use the Spirit as your base of operations."

"I'm flattered," Revan muttered and Carth winked. "Honestly, its good to see you, Carth."

"You too Revan, you too." Carth leaned against the wall next to an excited Mission and cocked his head. "Now, anyone mind telling me what this is all about?"

"Firstly I must contact the Council on Coruscant. They have requested to sit in at this meeting, with everyone's permission?" Vandar watched as Revan and his friends nodded, and Canderous shrugged. "Very well."

With a hum, one of the holoemitters that had been integrated into the Council chamber snapped into action. A flash of light shimmered around the room, to focus into a picture of the Council on Coruscant. Revan smiled at the images of Vreik and Sunrider.

"Ah, Revan, Bastila." Vreik nodded and Sunrider smiled. "It is good to see you both again, but in less than desired circumstances. We understand you have a new enemy to face?"

Revan glanced at Vandar and he nodded. "Very well, Revan I suggest the message, it explains what you and your colleagues face."

"Yes Master Vandar." Revan glanced at HK, whose red eyes had been studying the various people in the chamber, no doubt for potential attack, and the droid glanced down at T3.

"Annoyance: You heard the Master, rust bucket! Begin the playback!"

T3 whirred at the insult, but his small transmitter dish slid into position and a second projector flickered into life.

"_Yes, my Master?"_ A voice echoed around the room, cold and aggressive. "_What is your will_?"

"_I have instructions for you, my brethren. The time for Revan's revenge is at hand. Malak has already paid for his betrayal, even if it was at the hands of the puppet the Jedi have created_." The figure on screen was clad in a black cloak, the hood covering her face. The only way they could tell it was female, was due to the shape under the robes. Her voice was processed electronically, distorting it beyond recognition. Behind it, the room was shadowed, little light hiding any detail. "_Now the Jedi will pay for standing against our lord, for denying him his true self_!"

"That's not what happened!" Bastila whispered sadly, unable to help the terrible pang of guilt that still assailed her. Revan nodded and, with a slight hesitation, placed a hand on her arm. "I... we... tried to save you!"

"I know, I know..." Revan felt her gently touch his arm, felt regret trickle from her. He squeezed and whispered. "Later... it's okay."

"_Yes, my Master." _The voice of the recipient of her transmission agreed_. "What are your orders_?"

"_Are our loyal Sith troops in place, as are the dark Jedi?_"

"_Yes, Master. We are in position to cede fifteen Sith Battle cruisers from the others. It helps that the Sith as a whole are now struggling to find new leaders. But we stand ready to assist_."

"_Good. I want two of the dark Jedi we have under our command to go on a mission for me. I want Ban eliminated, chose two dark Jedi you trust and have them kill her_."

"_May I ask why? She is crippled, both in mind and body. She betrayed the Sith, she deserves to remain a Twi'lek pleasure slave for the rest of her life. I can only imagine the way she must be screaming at this moment. I hear her past involved slavery, she deserves this fate!_"

"No!" Juhani muttered coldly, her fingers curling. "No one, especially Yuthura, deserves that fate. She deserves redemption, compassion and support!"

"_I agree_," The female Master nodded and then sighed. "_But I have discovered that Revan knows about her now. Doubtless he will try to save her. I want her disposed of before he can do that. Remember that our primary goal is to capture Revan. I refuse to have Ban wandering around, assisting him in any way she can._"

Revan felt Bastila shiver next to him at the tone the figure used when she said, "capture". He reached out with the bond, felt her apprehension, and she sighed at the laughing image in front of her.

"To hear you repeat it to me is one thing. To hear this from her own lips is quite another. I see why you are so worried, my love." She whispered, realising for the first time that his fear for her safety was more than just a misplaced need to protect her. "We have to stop this Brotherhood!"

"_Yes, Master_."

"_Ban is powerful in the Force. If she joins him then it will become harder to obtain Revan alive_." The figure paused and its fingers clenched in annoyance. "_Besides, I want her death to send a message to Revan and the Jedi, one they cannot ignore! No one can escape the Sith, those that are weak and run from the dark side can find no redemption, only pain until they either accept the darkness or die_! _The Sith has been weakened by Malak and his stupidity for long enough_..."

"_So, you wish her killed Master. Any particular method_?"

"_Just ensure that Revan, and his pathetic group of Jedi, know who did it. As to the method? She is currently being held as a slave. Give them a copy of this message to hand to our contacts on Contara. I want them to be aware of my other instructions, but they will help your two assassins gain access to Yuthura Ban_! "The cowled figure leaned further into the holocam. "_I hope that I will not have to repeat myself Security officer Ghern! Assist the two dark Jedi who give you this message, then carry out my other orders_!"

"_Yes Master, I shall instruct them to give him this message. What about Jedi Revan's 'friends'? Do you have any orders to deal with them?_"

"_Hmmm...._" The figure pondered for a few moments and then laughed. "_I want them killed as well. Send a message to our loyal Sith and dark Jedi. Tell them to do the following. Jolee Bindo, Onasi, Ordo and that Wookie are to be killed if Revan is seen with them. I have no use for any of them. Bindo is too old to be of use, Onasi would die before he told us anything, so we'll save the torturers the time. Ordo is Mandalorian, I've never trusted them. As for the wookie? If I wanted a slave, I would take the Cathar. So, kill them all... tell them to do it quickly as well_. _Revenge is something we have no time for, this has to be clean and efficient."_

Revan glanced at his friends, his own temper flaring. Jolee, his wrinkled face scowling at the floating figure, noticed Revan's expression and grunted. "Charming woman, I wonder what she does in her spare time? Skin Kinrath pups perhaps...."

"I'll say," Carth muttered behind Revan with a sigh. "Not someone I'd like to meet on a dark night."

"She's pathetic," Canderous muttered his Ciggara glowing as he inhaled. "They would need more than a few Sith lackeys to take any of us out. She's obviously not seen any of us in action. She has no honour, on the battle field or for her own actions... none." For the Mandalorian, there could be no greater insult.

"_Yes my Master. What of the Twi'lek girl, the Cathar and Bastila Shan?" _The lackey's voice inquired. The Master paused in thought once more and her cold laughter echoed around the chamber.

"_Hmm. Mission Vao is pathetic at combat, so I want her alive. She is pretty and would catch a fair price at the slavery markets. I imagine there are a large number of clients with specific tastes. I want her alive!"_

_"As you wish, Master. May I ask why we do not just kill her?"_

_"I have my reasons, just follow my orders."_

Juhani hissed at that and Revan watched in shock as her claws slid slightly from her fingers. "She will not have Mission, that I swear! Not while I breathe, will any of my friends be enslaved as I was!"

"Juhani, s'okay I can handle myself. I'm not gonna become a damn slave girl I can tell ya!" Revan glanced behind him and saw Mission glaring at the holofigure with loathing. "I say we find her first and I'll show her 'no combat skills' with my vibroblade, in her Sith'in face!"

"_The Cathar, Juhani I think her name is, she interests me. So full of anger, repressed passion that she denies_." The figure laughed slyly. "_She would make a worthy apprentice to me. Powerful and obedient with the right... offers. If she resists me? Well, as I said, I always wanted a Cathar pleasure slave, I hear they are sensational_!"

Revan heard Juhani's snarl and turned quickly to look at her. The Cathar's fur had risen and her claws had slid further from her fingertips. Even as Vandar and Vrook shook their heads in dismay at her lack of control, Revan reached out to her.

"Juhani, there is no emotion...." He whispered. "Peace... peace."

Juhani stared at him, anger in her yellow eyes, but she shivered at his understanding expression. Slowly, her claws slid back into her fingertips and her face slipped to dismay.

"Revan, how can we stand back and let her plot? She threatens you, Mission, Yuthura and now me. She is evil, twisted and I shall be there to stop her!" Juhani's voice was ice and her fur settled back. "She will not enslave any of us, take any of us, kill any of us. Not while I still draw breath! We shall stop her!"

"Yes, we will." Revan muttered and Juhani's face slipped distastefully to the holofigure once more.

"_What of Bastila Shan, my Master_?" The rough voice inquired and Revan stiffened, as did Bastila. "_What is your wish concerning her? I know many of the Dark Jedi would be honoured to have the pleasure of killing her_."

"_No_!" The figure snapped. "_I want her alive. The whore of the betrayer is the key to bringing Revan to our temple! I want her as a prize, alive_!"

"_Master_?"

"_Revan is in love with Bastila._" The figure sneered at this. "_She is Revan's one weakness that can be exploited. Bastila herself is weak and feeble. She fell to the dark side once, and was saved by him. It should prove easy to turn her to the darkness, the seed remains, despite her battle to regain her foolish belief in the light."_

_"But... Master..."_

_"Do as I say." _The Master snapped_. "Not only would she be a valuable Dark Jedi, but she would prove too much of a lure for Revan to resist. Remember, the Brotherhoods one goal is to capture Revan_! _I have said that once already!_"

"_It may be hard to obtain her." _The lackey managed, trying not to tremble at the fury on her face_. " She has powerful allies, who can shield her own pathetic abilities_."

"_Yes, so I want a bounty placed on her head. Both for the Sith, the Dark Jedi and any mercenaries. Two million credits for Bastila Shan, alive_!"

"_Very well, Master. It will be a great day for the Brotherhood to regain Revan_."

_"Yes, it will. The revenge of Revan will occur on that day. We, the Brotherhood of Revan will be triumphant! It was the will of the Force that Revan discovered our temple, that it contains the power to make everything we desire come true. Revan will come back to us, and when he does we shall gain access to the Curse of Revan, and the Jedi shall know pain and defeat_!"

"_I shall distribute these orders, my Master. Victory to the brotherhood_!"

"_Victory to the Brotherhood_!"

The message faded and Revan felt Bastila slip her hand, ever so hesitantly, into his. Refusing to allow the argument separate them, Revan gripped hers tightly and squeezed. "Two million to secure me as a... a prize." She smiled weakly. "You were right, they really do see me as something to hold, material worth, something to obtain and use against you."

"I won't let that happen Bastila, I swear that to you." He held her hand tightly, ignoring the look of disapproval from Vrook. "I won't let them take you again."

"The main thing is to try and find them first." Canderous rose from his leaning position against the wall and strode forwards. "The best defence is offence."

"That is the problem, Mr Ordo." Vandar glanced around the room. "We have no idea where this 'temple' is secreted. As you can see, the message gives orders to what seems to be a large splinter group of the Sith. If we do not do something, you and your friends will remain in great danger for the rest of your lives."

"Hunt them down!" Canderous insisted. "Stop them before they have a chance to mobilise fully against us."

"The Jedi do not "hunt down" people!" Vrook shook his head and stared at Revan. "You should try and find the leader of this 'brotherhood' and stop her, as peacefully as possible. Remember, revenge leads to the darkness."

"How?" Revan asked the room. "That message contains no planet name, no co-ordinates... nothing. How am I going to find this 'temple' of theirs in time to stop them?"

"Hmm, this is difficult." Vreik's flickering face looked intently at Revan. "You have no memory, no matter how faint, of this temple? Of going there?"

"Master, I can't even remember going to the Star Forge!" Revan sighed and felt Bastila's sympathy trickle into him. He smiled weakly at her and shook his head. "Besides, even if I did, is it wise to go after them this way? They want me! My friends, Bastila, are nothing more than tools... prizes to obtain or be dismissed. How can I fight this?"

"The same as you did Malak, with stealth and cunning Revan." Sunrider stepped forwards and even Vrook looked up with interest. "We cannot stand by and let them complete their plan. They want you, and as you have already pointed out, they will attack you with all the resources they have. I wonder why they want you so badly, apart from you being dangerous as a returned Sith Lord."

"That's not going to happen, not willingly." Revan muttered, and missed the pleased expressions Sunrider, Vreik and Vandar gave him. "We have to stop her before she can put any of these plans into action."

"What's this 'Curse of Revan' thing?" Carth piped up, his eyes alert. "That seems to be the main reason they want you, apart from making you join the dark side."

"Onasi's right," Canderous muttered. "What is it? Why do they seem so eager to obtain it?"

"A weapon?" Denara whispered, and then flushed as all eyes turned to her. "Sorry."

"No," Revan frowned at her and motioned for her to continue. "Keep going. A weapon, possibly ancient Sith?"

"No!" Bastila looked at him, her eyes bright, their argument forgotten. "The Star Forge Revan. Remember the Star Forge. Revan found that thanks to the Starmap's."

"You're saying he found something else with the maps?"

"Possibly, or something that was contained in the Forge itself, a map or information. But with the Forge destroyed, we have no way of knowing what was written in there."

"True." Revan sighed. "It would be up here, if my mind wasn't shattered beyond repair. I would be able to lead us to where we have to go."

Bastila felt his annoyance at himself and slipping closer, slid her hand into his, and slipped her gentle reassurance down the bond. Revan sighed and squeezed her hand.

"Maybe... maybe Fara could help?" Juhani looked at Revan with compassion. "If the memory of where they are is locked in the shattered portion of Revan's mind, could we access it? You said that the dreams of the Starmap's were actually fragmented memories of your past self's life."

"They are or were." Bastila agreed, nodding. "I used the bond to draw them out, reluctantly I might add."

"Bastila, it's fine." Revan looked at the Cathar and nodded... a frown on his face. "Maybe, just maybe, with the right help... with the people I trust helping me, we could search for a fragment like it."

"But wouldn't you have already had a dream about that?" Denara asked him with a frown. "If they are fragments of Revan's past, and Bastila was trying to draw out the Starmap's, wouldn't that have possibly pulled the memory of this other place from you?"

"I was fixed on the Starmap's..." Bastila whispered. "Nothing more, that's all I was searching for, at the time they were the only vital things to find. Maybe, just maybe we could find a fragment. It's slim... Lord Revan's mind was badly shattered, so much lost for all time, but it might be possible."

"It is all we have to go on." Vreik agreed from the flickering image. "Revan, I know this is a lot to ask you to do, but will you let Bastila and the other expert Jedi try to find something to assist us?"

Revan glanced at all his friends and colleagues in the room, his gaze flicking to Bastila, the woman he loved, trusted with his life. "This is all my fault, I'll do whatever I can to put it right."

"Then may the Force guide us." With a flicker the transmission from Coruscant faded.

Vandar pursed his lips. "Fara would be the one to talk to about this. Bastila will be the conduit into your mind Revan, and now that you know who you are, the two of you can both search the fragments. Fara will be there to assist you, to provide you with as much meditative ability as she can."

"I understand." Revan sighed and Bastila felt his apprehension.

"You are Jedi Revan now. The fragments that remain of Lord Revan, cannot harm you. Besides, I will be there, I will aid you."

Vrook shook his head. "Revan, Bastila, this is a dangerous path, yet I agree that it seems to be the only way. Take our blessings and go, you have your ord..."

A sudden explosion rocked the Council room, shaking everyone to their feet.

"Sith spit!" Mission, her young lithe body able to absorb the shaking, slid to her feet and glanced around in horror. "That's a Permacrete detonation!!"

Revan glanced around in shock, noticed Bastila's own frightened eyes and then turned to the Council. "Wait here!"


	24. revenant:chapter5:part3

Jedi Enclave, guest quarters.

Revan, his friends in close pursuit, ran out of the Council chambers and staring in horror at the rising smoke and dust cloud coming from the guest quarters of the Enclave, ran towards it. Civilians ran screaming from the smoking, burning building as the other Jedi from the enclave gathered.

The building had been the part of the guest quarters for visiting Jedi and VIP's. It had been impressive, in a calm and modest way, like all the Jedi Enclave buildings. This was especially impressive, considering it had been constructed of prefabricated permacrete blocks and tritium beams.

The main section had been round, like the other enclave buildings that had endured the bombarding and assault by the Sith. However, due to the new materials used in its construction, it had gleamed whitely in the Dantooine sun.

The many windows set into the round walls provided a view of the calm serenity of the Enclave itself or the Dantooine plateau. Made of polarised plexiluminum, they reflected the sunlight in a cascade of various colours, the material splitting the sunlight like a prism. Combined, the walls and windows made it shine like a jewel at noon.

Revan stood looking in horror now. The windows had been blown out by the detonation, covering the Enclave's main courtyard in sharp, shards of cracked and blackened material. The rounded wall now sported massive smoking cracks on their once pristine surface. Flames licked around the edges as any combustible material burned inside.

It was easy to see where the explosion had taken place. A massive crater, ten meters in diameter, sat gaping like a wound in the side of the building closest to Revan and his group. It belched black smoke and flames tore at the edges. Even as he watched, fresh cracks snaked out of around the hole and began to consume the semisolid surface of what was once a beautiful building. Revan stared at the smoking hole, judged the rate of the snaking cracks, and turned to grip the closest Jedi. The young man stared at him, in shock and Revan sighed, keeping his voice level.

"You! We need fire suppressants, medi-packs, blankets and anything else you have. Hurry!" The pale Jedi nodded and Revan glanced around. Spying his lover staring in horror at the rolling black smoke that poured from the pitted and burning hole, Revan slammed a quick burst of Force power into the bond, jolting her attention to him. "Bastila, we need to get anyone in there, out!"

"I know!" Bastila's attention wavered to the massive hole once more and she swallowed. Why attack the guest quarters? She shook her head. "Revan, this is awful, why attack the Jedi?"

"I don't know, come on!" Revan started to run towards the building, when Juhani let out a sudden cry of horror. He turned, only to find her running past him, her lightsabre snapping into life.

"Juhani!" He watched as she threw herself at the automatically sealed blast doors leading into the guest quarters, burying her lightsabre into the metal as far as it would go. "Juhani, wait!"

"Revan, help me!" She turned a panicked face to him, and he felt a shock ripple through him at the sight of tears in her eyes. "That's Yuthura's room!"

"With a start, Revan ignited his own dual blade and ran at the other side of the door, burying the hilt deep into the mechanism. Even as he dragged the energy blade downwards, leaving a molten scar in the doorway, he felt Bastila, Jolee and the Council leaders all arrange themselves behind him.

"Everyone, pull!" Bastila shouted, going down on one knee and raising her hand. Revan could feel the massive pull of Force energy slam into and begin to yank at the blast door. The door squealed and twisted in the frame, even as Juhani and Revan ran backwards to safety as the troupe of Jedi all concentrated.

Squeezing Juhani's shoulder tightly, Revan reached out his own hand, and feeling Bastila's exertions through the bond, reached out to her.

"_Together, Bast... we do this together_!" He slipped his mind around her, through her and she him, both concentrating at once. The Force of the two Jedi, so in tune, linked in mind and spirit, coalesced into one massive focused source of energy. With their minds set to one purpose, it slammed into and yanked at the metal of the blast door. The door screamed, resisted for a few seconds as it bent, then twisted, under the group's assault. The Jedi poured every ounce of power at it until, with the scream of shearing metal, it flew backwards onto the grass.

Revan collapsed forwards for a few seconds, and he could hear Bastila's heaving gasps of exertion next to him. After a few deep breaths, he managed to glance around.

Carth and Canderous were spraying the licking tendrils of flame that had burst out of the bent and broken doorway with suppression foam. Mission and Denara lay kneeling next to a few of the civilians who had been caught by the shock wave when the explosive had blown a hole in the permacrete, tending to their shock and wounds. The Jedi were all like Bastila and himself, trying to pull themselves together after such a massive effort.

Juhani was the first to recover, her Cathar metabolism fired by adrenaline shaking off the draining effect of such focus. She staggered to her feet and ran into the smoking doorway, even as Carth and Canderous called for her to come back.

Revan looked at Bastila and as she nodded at him, her face set into a grim mask, the two Jedi rose to their feet and also ran at the smoking doorway.

"Bastila..." Revan yelled, watching as her worried face turned to glance at him. "Take care of yourself."

Her face flickered though various emotions as she ran. Surprise, tenderness, realisation, irritation, only to settle with understanding. "You too."

"Revan, Bastila!" Vandar called, even as they plunged into the smoking building. "It is too dangerous!"

Juhani coughed as she ran along a corridor. Covered in soot, with black smoke rolling oily along the ceiling, tongues of flame burned the flammable materials left by the explosion. Juhani's yellow eyes flicked desperately around and her breathing was reduced to feral pants of the noxious fumes that poured past her. She staggered forwards, her fur rippling in the heat from the licking flames.

"Yuthura!" She screamed, desperate. "Where are you?!"

Unable to hear anything, barely able to see from the smoke and flames, Juhani staggered forwards coughing and sweating as she did so. Face black with soot as she fell against the twisted, hot, doorway that was once the entrance to Yuthura's corridor. She staggered forwards, gasping in pain, as gouts of flame licked at the back of her head, burning her.

The room was a gaping and smoking hole, carved out of solid Permacrete. Juhani's eyes took in the devastation. The cracked gaping hole with the blue sky behind it, the smoking crater carved out of Yuthura's floor and the smashed Refresher. She took it all in and felt a sob tear at her throat. "No...."

Staggering back, Juhani felt her eyes moisten. There would be nothing to save, the explosion had been that intense. "_She deserved redemption! She deserved, love."_

A sudden creaking made her look up and her mouth opened in horror at the sight of a huge crack running quickly across the roof. Splinters of permacrete scattered onto Juhani, and she coughed as the dust, along with a sizeable portion of the pluming black smoke, tricked into her lungs.

With a sudden, almost explosive crunch, the roof of Yuthura's room caved in. Massive permacreate lumps fell slowly towards Juhani and the young Jedi flung her hands over her head, too scared to move or use the Force.

The sudden feeling of hands gripping her and yanking her back as the lumps of permacrete smashed bare inches from her boots, made Juhani spin round. There, covered in soot, bruised, bleeding and with one of her Lekku gashed open, stood Yuthura. Blue blood oozed from the damaged Lekku, and Yuthura's eyes were glazed with pain. Despite this, she had been alert enough to pull Juhani from the room before the Cathar had been crushed.

"What are you doing in here?" She yelled, her voice panicked and harsh. Despite the tone, Juhani could see the fear, fear for her rather than herself, in Yuthura's eyes. "Fool! Come on!"

"You're alive..." Juhani managed, trying to grapple with her emotions. "Alive..."

"Come on!" Yuthura snarled, and gripping her arm, staggered down the corridor. As the two Jedi reached the intersection, the permacrete flooring under Yuthura's boots suddenly splintered and cracked. Yuthura gasped as she felt herself suddenly begin to loose her footing as the once solid surface gave way. She fell, screaming, into a pit, flames licking up at the edges.

"NO!" Juhani screamed, throwing herself forwards to catch Yuthura's bruised and bleeding arm as she fell. She felt the air knocked out of her as the Twi'lek's weight tugged her body to the floor and dragged her along to the pits edge, a mass of twisted and cracked permacrete.

She looked down, her muscles screaming, bunched tightly under the fur, as she clung to a swinging Yuthura. "Hang on!"

"Juhani, get out!" Yuthura managed, glancing up as chunks of permacrete began to fall around them once again. Her eyes stared at the Cathar with sudden fear, fear for her. "Please, go!"

"No, I will not leave you!" Juhani snarled, her yellow eyes burning with determination, scrabbling with her boots and the Force, trying to find a purchase to pull Yuthura up. "I cannot abandon you, my friend!"

"Juha..." Yuthura began, only to have the word half finished as a lump of permacrete slammed onto her head, purple blood spurting onto Juhani's face as it did so. "Gah!"

"No!" Juhani cried, her face slipping into panic as the Twi'lek's blood trickled into her mouth. She spat and shook her as much as possible. Yuthura's eyes had rolled into the back of her head, the Lekku limp as she swung. "Yuthura, wake up!"

The Twi'lek swung in her grip, slack, unconscious, bleeding, and Juhani could feel her body beginning to slip towards the edge of the pit as Yuthura's body weight yanked her down. She was so close now that her hearing could just make out the tiny sizzle noise of the bloody droplets from Yuthura's body as they fell into the roaring flames. She strained, holding the Twi'lek tighter, but it was no good.

The flames below them licked at Yuthura's boots, almost tasting her before they could consume her. Juhani screamed, the agony of holding her, even as she herself slipped towards the edge, consuming her Jedi control. She looked at the purple woman in her grip and clung tightly. "_Force help us..._"

"Juhani!" Revan's voice broke though the cracking of permacrete and roar of flames. "Juhani!"

"Revan!" Juhani cried out, her muscles screaming. "Please, for the love of the Force, help me!"

The man she looked up to, the Jedi, who had saved her all those years ago, from her own darkness, stumbled through the smoke and flames like a glowing beacon. He fell with a crash against the pit and swore at the sight of Yuthura swinging above a pit of flames.

"Hold on!" Revan focused himself and, glancing around at the teetering lumps of permacrete, reached out with the Force and nudged one to fall into the pit.

As it fell, he bound the Force to it, securing the other end to Yuthura's body concentrating hard to let the Force flow. Bound by an invisible cord, unbreakable to all regards, Yuthura's body flew up from the pit as the permacrete lump smashed into the flames, the physical momentum translated through the Force to her body.

Juhani gasped as the pressure left her arms, allowing her to yank Yuthura to safety. Revan helped the Cathar to her feet, bracing himself as the building trembled, micro fractures appearing along the walls. He shook his head and began to tug Juhani down the corridor, even as the Cathar flung the unconscious Twi'lek over her shoulder.

"What about the others?" She yelled at him, only to have Revan shake his head.

"This set of guest quarters is only half finished, Jedi guests only!" He screamed above the smoke and flames. The two Jedi staggered away from the destruction. "Yuthura was the only one still in here. Fara and Jazir were the only other Jedi given quarters here! The public quarters are in a different section. Come on!"

As they rounded the bend, Bastila ran up to them, and slipped an arm around Juhani, carrying her and Yuthura's weight. "Move! The explosive was set on a structural beam!"

The three Jedi staggered towards the twisted doorway, permacrete blocks smashing behind them with growing regularity. Juhani coughed, as she stumbled towards the exit. An itching sensation that had been in her lungs since the rolling black smoke in the corridor, had become worse. Now it burned and she coughed again, trying to disregard the sensation as they staggered along the collapsing corridor.

As they reached the exit, Carth and Canderous reached in to help yank them to safety, and Juhani felt a searing blast of heat hit the back of her neck as the remaining permacrete tumbled into the burning basement of the Jedi guest quarters. Even as she staggered away from the exit, Juhani could see Revan turning to look in horror as the remains of the building began to collapse in on themselves, huge rents appearing in the permacrete walls that still stood, and then tumbling into the burning maw of the building.

Juhani collapsed on the grass, only just able to lower Yuthura gently before her screaming muscles gave way. She ran an exhausted hand across the Twi'lek's face, trying to wipe the oozing blood from it. Another cough ripped from her lungs, and she choked a little before calling in a shockingly rough voice. "Jolee!"

The old Jedi ran quickly across to the Cathar and Twi'lek, his hands gripping a life support pack tightly. "Ah hell! Mission!"

"Sith spit!" The young girl managed, seeing Yuthura's pale face. "Jolee, we need to get her to the medical wing. She's lost a lot of blood!"

Jolee nodded, hauling the unconscious Twi'lek over his shoulder. "Juhani, you too! For smoke inhalation!"

"I am fine." she managed... only to cough hard. Mission shook her head and placed her young hands across the Cathar, hauling her to her feet.

"You're goin!" She demanded, even as Juhani shook her head. "No questions, Bantha brain."

Revan and Bastila watched the young girl haul the taller, coughing, Cathar away. With a shake of his head, Revan turned to observe the carnage. Bastila's hand snuck into his and she sighed. "This is a message... and an attempted assassination."

Revan nodded, even as Vandar and Vrook quietly walked next to them. "They were after Yuthura, and I get the feeling they used this to get our attention too Bastila."

"Then it is even more vital you begin as soon as possible." Vandar tapped his cane, watching as the Civilian emergency services arrived. "We cannot risk more innocent lives."

"Mmm, I agree." Revan glanced down at the short alien and cocked his head. "We should talk to Fara then. If we're to stand any chance of hunting this 'Brotherhood of Revan' down..."

"You must hurry," Vrook shook his head at the devastation and glanced at Bastila and Revan. "This is a bold attack for them, I can see them getting bolder if we do not do something."

Jedi medical wing.

"What's happening out there?" A medical technician yelled at Mission as she fought her way past panicking and injured civilians. Juhani coughing and spluttering under her arm. "Is it another attack?"

Mission shook her head, trying to reassure the woman, she recognised the fear in her eyes. "No, this was a bomb blast. Ju went into the blaze to rescue Jedi Ban, but she's hurt, bad!"

"I am fine," Juhani coughed, wheezing suddenly and falling to her knees. "F... fine, help Yuthura."

"You first!" The medic snapped, waving at a couple of orderlies. "What happened to her?"

"She ran inta the fire, the burning building. I dunno what happened, but she dragged Yuthura out of the building." Mission gripped Juhani's hand as it flailed weakly at the side bar of the grav-gurney. "What's wrong with her?"

The medic ran a bioscanner across Juhani's tossing form and stared in shock at its readings. She pushed Mission roughly out the way, and began to fumble with various hypo injectors. Mission yanked at her arm, span her around. "What?"

"She's dying!" The medic snapped at her, spinning back and injecting a vast quantity of Kolto into Juhani's blood stream. "She's too delirious to focus on the Force to heal herself."

"Dying?" Mission shook her head, her face draining to an almost ice blue. Even as she watched, Juhani coughed again, a trickle of bright red blood oozing from her mouth. "From what?"

"Acid. She's inhaled a Sith load of acid into her lungs, its ripping them apart. It's affecting her ability to absorb oxygen, so she's dying." The medic yanked a breath mask across the Cathar's weakening frame, and increased the flow. "Cathar have a far more active metabolism than humans or Twi'lek's, so they burn through more oxygen than we do. We'll have to hook her up to a steady Kolto flow, and try to get this poodoo out of her lungs."

"Can I do anything?" Mission stared at her friend, and felt fear slip into her. "Please?"

The medic sighed, and as the gurney came to a halt, placed a reassuring hand on the young girl. "Keep her company, if... when she becomes coherent, get her to focus on healing herself with the Force. I'll go and get the Kolto."

Mission gripped Juhani's hand and squeezed it tightly. "Hold on, Ju."

As she held her friend's hand, a sudden whisper of curtains behind her made her turn. Her eye's widened in shock. Jolee, his own arm protectively wrapped around Yuthura's, smiled weakly at her. "Hey kid."

"Jolee?" Mission stared at Yuthura's face. Still scarred and seeping blood, Yuthura lay on the same type of grav-gurney as Juhani. Mission winced at the sight of the huge gash in Yuthura's right Lekku. She knew how sensitive her own head tails were, so the gash must have been agonising. "How is she?"

"In a lot of pain. That damn hunk of permacrete almost knocked her brain into her Lekku. They had to give her a sedative while the Kolto works its stuff." Jolee stared at Juhani. "How's Juhani?"

"Bad. The doc says she's inhaled acid inta her lungs. She..." Mission licked her lips, fought back tears. "She says that Ju might not make it."

"Heh, shows what she knows." Jolee smiled tenderly at Mission. "Kid, Juhani has a strong aura, a warriors aura. She'll fight it, and win. Besides, if this old man has any wits left, she's got something to come back to."

"What?" Mission frowned at Jolee as the old man smiled. "Okay, as long as she's gonna be okay."

"I'm certain she will kid. Us oldies may not be that smart, but we know some things about life."

"Is Yuth suffering from the acid stuff too?" Mission stared at the purple Twi'lek. So different from the Sith Master she remembered in Korriban. "Is she gonna be okay?"

"I don't know." Jolee picked up a bioscanner from a table, and ran it gently across Yuthura. "Well, she's inhaled some of that acid too, but it's not attacking her lungs. Maybe that's due to her homeworld. Sleheyron is all volcanic action and noxious fumes, industrial factories, slavery pens... miserable place. With all that crap in the air, I suppose she has a natural resistance."

The medic walked back, her arms carrying a large automated Medical life support pack. With a glance and nod at Jolee, she quickly slipped the system around Juhani's body. The Cathar shuddered as it slipped into action, jerking as the hypo's slipped gently against her sides. With a sigh of dismay, the medic turned to Mission.

"That's all I can do for her, apart from give her this to neutralise the acid." She slid another hypo against the Cathar's neck and injected its contents into Juhani. "Look after her, I have to tend to others now..."

Mission stared at Jolee and the two friends both sat next to their respective patients. Mission stroked Juhani's fur, and then glanced at Jolee, who raised an eyebrow. "Wanna play Pazzak? I get the feelin we're gonna be here for ages. I ain't leaving Ju!"

Jolee smiled. It was a good idea, and would help take the young girl's mind off her friend. "Against you? Do I really look that senile? Actually don't answer that. To avoid the grin I know is coming... I'll play. What are the stakes?"

"The person who wins three hands gets caffa brought to them..." Mission smiled. "While the other looks after both of them."

"Deal kid, shuffle the cards... from the bottom of the pack... and make sure it's the one without the markings and slight indents." Jolee grinned as she gaped at him. "I'm old, but I know stuff you haven't even thought of yet. Deal."

Jedi enclave Meditation suite: one hour later.

Bastila paced the room as Revan slipped the soft rug onto the floor in the middle of the room. She stopped for a second to stare at the man she loved, before pacing again. Revan ignored her, feeling her anxiety tremble into him down the link, until he turned to her with a sigh. "Bast, don't."

"Revan, I'm worried." Bastila looked at him and then walked up to him, giving in to her need to touch him, the irritation with him slipping behind her anxiety. "We have no idea what's floating around in those shattered memories. What if... what if I lose you?"

"That's not going to happen." Revan felt her emotions tumble, unstable... varied. One second annoyed with him over this morning, only to be swamped by her love and worry for him. "I have you with me, Fara too. Together, we can find anything I can recall. I know you can keep me from the darkness Bastila."

"How can I, when I can't keep myself?" She whispered. Sighing inwardly she reflected on her own emotional state, the upset... tinged with that... bitterness she felt whenever she looked at him. " How can I? When I can't seem to work out if I should be cross with you, or worried... or both..."

"You could be angry with me, I deserve it..." Revan sighed and shook his head at her look of astonishment. "But then, I want to protect you for so many reasons... I hope you can understand, I know you will."

She stared at him, the bond showing his words to be truth. She was amazed, and had the oddest sensation that she would always be amazed, at his need to be with her. "You really mean that..."

"Of course, I love you." Revan smiled weakly.

"Then understand when I ask you not to do this!" She said suddenly. " Let me protect you for once. Can you not see that you are being a fool, a gullible fool as well."

"Bast..." Revan whispered, feeling her words hit him in the heart, leaving an ache. "This is the only way to find them."

"I know," Bastila said quietly, and Revan could feel her temper roll under the surface. "But the fact is that this message, this... By the Force! I cannot help but feel they are connected, more than just to this brotherhood. I... Sith spit!"

Revan watched as she pressed her fingers to her temples and shook her head. "I feel as though someone's pulling us this way, deciding where we step and it worries me. That this is all a trap, for you!" She looked up at him. "I know this is the only way, I know that we will be careful, but still it worries me."

"Why?"

"Can I not worry for you as you do for me?" She snapped at him suddenly. "You seek to keep me from harm! Why can I not do the same for you? I am not weak, I have the same abilities and skills as you do!"

Revan looked at her angry, worried face, her blue eyes flashing with repressed anger and irritation as she struggled with the emotions that roiled under the surface. He reached out and touched her cheek, softly. "I never said you don't. I'm sorry... sorry if how I treat you annoys or angers you."

"I... I... I cannot explain how I feel." Bastila sighed, her Jedi training under Jolee allowing her to pull back from the anger. "This... anger is meaningless, has no reason to be there... I am sorry, truly."

Revan stared at her, felt the pain shuddering through her... the worry. Yet he could also feel the irritation, still there... and linked to it, the anger. Filled with worry for her he frowned. "I know this has all come fast, that I seem to protect you... but I only do what I feel is best, for us. Not because I just want to protect you."

Bastila felt the truth behind his words slam into her gut, almost making her wince. She could feel the worry, the pain and the shock her behaviour towards him was causing, and she regretted it. Even as part of her wanted to rant at him for always... getting in the way. "I... this is not the place to discuss this..."

Revan felt her pull back from her anger and he sighed. "I agree, but this... this has to end Bastila. I... this could pull us apart or worse."

He saw her stiffen, felt her shock. "You think I would...."

"No, no.... Because I know we will work this out, because we love each other." Revan wanted to touch her, watched as she relaxed at his words. "I trust you, and I always will."

"Thank you and.... I know you do. But as I say, this is for later." Bastila managed a smile, and shivered as Revan smiled weakly in return. "One thing, my love..."

Her use of her favourite name for him made Revan smile stronger. "What?"

"When we... try to enter the shattered portion of his mind... I urge us both to tread lightly. There are many... traps, mental disciplines that can assault a Jedi with fear, horror... pain, even with darkside energy. All can cause damage... some can kill. I am certain, Revan knew many, if not all of them."

"I... never thought about that." Revan stared at her, watched her eyes. "Did you ever meet one when you scanned my damaged mind?"

"Once, and no.... I do not wish to talk about it. Suffice to say it was not pleasant and highly unsettling." She looked at him with her dark blue eyes. "Trust me on this Revan... please."

"Always..."

"Good," she whispered, unable to hide her pleasure at the simple words. " We should prepare and when we do enter your mind, we must move fast." Bastila slid onto the rug, settled slightly and then looked up at him with her soft blue eyes. "Is that acceptable to you?"

"You don't have to ask." Revan slid next to her on the rug and stared into her blue eyes. _Like a storm in the ocean. _"Can you do what you did on Dantooine? On the other planets?"

"For us, yes." She frowned, nibbled her lip in an unconscious display of worry. "However, what about Fara? The bond is personal, a link that was forged on the very anvil of life and death. It cannot be invaded, broken forcefully by an outside party or shown to another. The only thing that can be done is to cloud the connection. For Fara, she will not be able to... share what we will."

"I understand," Revan nodded. "She can still assist us."

"How? She will remain... outside of us."

"That doesn't stop her helping us Bastila." Revan entwined his fingers in thought and sighed. "You and I know of the dark side. While we are not immune to its effects, we can guard against it as much as a Jedi can. As well as this, we both have a fair idea of what to look for... Fara has no idea. She wasn't present during that meeting."

"You think we stand a better chance? Revan, it was so hard to find anything in those shattered remains."

"But you said that the maps..."

"Yes, and I have no idea how I was able to bring them to the surface so vividly. It was the will of the Force that I viewed them at all. That, for the both of us, they were so clear."

"Then maybe we stand a better chance than I thought possible. If the Force wills it, I know we can find something... anything to help." Revan gazed at her and sighed. "The Curse of Revan, we heard that... I want to find any fragment about it. If we can find information, a memory... it'll be a step in the right direction."

"That may be buried deeply, too deeply." Bastila bit her lip and shook her head. "I am so uncertain over this. The danger there, I know and have felt it. You have not..."

"Fara will be our lifeline, our guide back if we enter too deep, if something happens." Revan took hr hand gently and felt her warm skin whisper over his as he squeezed it slightly. "She is a strong Jedi, a powerful mind healer... I know she can help us."

"I cannot help but feel this is wrong... dangerous. Revan listen. Maybe we should..."

A sudden, gentle, click made the two lovers glance around to see Healer Fara walk quickly into the room and bow. She looked exhausted. Deep rings lay under her eyes, and her usually immaculate brown hair stuck up through stress and sweat. She looked at the two Jedi and sighed.

"Sorry. I've been assisting the other healers and medics with the civilian casualties." She stifled another sigh and smiled weakly. "I've had quite an interesting hour or so..."

Revan gazed at her and gently placed a supporting arm on hers. "We can postpone this for later."

"I would prefer that we get this done, so you can stop them from doing anything like this a second time. I have had to calm far too many innocent people down, distract people from... nasty injuries... seen more pain than I ever wish to again."

"Fine," Revan smiled at her and helped her down to the rug, before shifting to sit cross-legged next to Bastila. "Bastila and I have discussed this. She and I have high hopes that with the bond we may be able to find... something. It is our intention to try and enhance the bond, try and join our minds. Then we'll search the fragments left of Revan's mind for any clue."

Fara stared at them with a slightly open mouth. "I'd heard about the life bond, but this is fascinating. You... you can meld your minds?"

"Yes," Bastila whispered, flushing slightly. "I can touch everything that makes Revan who he is, and he can do the same to me." She looked at Revan and despite their current coolness, felt herself tremble. "It is one of the most personal things I have ever experienced."

Fara sighed. "Well then, I don't see that I can be much help. After all, Revan, Bastila was the one who healed your mind, not me." She slid to her feet.

"No, please wait." Revan gazed up at her and motioned with his hand. "We'll need your help."

"Oh?" Fara stared at the Jedi, weighing if Revan was trying to soften her feelings or if he really did need her help. Revan gazed at her and smiled slightly. "Very well, how may I help?"

"Where we're going, is unknown. I would feel... far more comfortable knowing someone is there, able to guide Bastila to the light if anything should happen."

"Revan means us." Bastila said sharply, her blue eyes cooling, her annoyance flaring slightly, making the bond twang. Revan winced inwardly. "We both will need help to escape if anything should happen."

"Revan, Bastila... I doubt that there is anything in that... mess." Fara glanced at Revan and smiled sheepishly. "My apologies."

Revan shrugged. "Don't worry about it, I've been insulted by professionals."

Fara smiled and then continued. "As I said, the chances of anything dangerous is remote. It has been recorded, Sith mental disciplines that act as traps to anyone who attacks the mind of the Sith, but they are rare. Revan may have had some, but I doubt they would have survived Malak's betrayal. If your mind was as badly shattered as the Jedi Council on Dantooine said, as I have every reason to believe, then nothing more than fragments will have survived."

"I would agree." Revan glanced at Bastila and Fara felt herself smile inwardly at the sight. She could see that they had yet to set the various boundaries needed in relationships, and it was causing... tension between them. Oblivious to her thoughts, Revan soldiered on. "But I want you to be there as a safety rope, for mine and Bastila's sake."

"Very well," She slipped her legs under her, into her favourite meditation position, and nodded at the two Jedi. "Shall we begin?"

Revan nodded and turned to Bastila. Gently, he reached out and Bastila stared hesitantly for a few seconds, before entwining her fingers with his. "Let's begin."

Slowly, Revan reached into the bond, reached out to Bastila. He could feel her reaching out as well. The annoyance with him fading into the blend of emotions that was her... just Bastila. With a sigh, he felt his mind touch hers. Despite all their problems, Revan's eyes slid wide, as he felt her love pound into him. This bond was so very special, tender... private.

Bastila shuddered as she felt her love, her soul mate, bond mate, slip next to her, into her, merge with her. She could feel his own shock at how wonderfully personal this still was, for both of them. Even after all this time, Bastila still found herself overwhelmed by his physical presence, his touch, his taste, his smell. Her irritation with him remained, but faded into the background, she knew where her heart really lay... Now, with his very personality, his very thoughts, blending with hers, she loved him.

The bond....

"_Bastila..._" His voice, tender, close, and inside her mind. "_I can feel you..._ "

"_I know_." His sigh, of regret over the... conflict between them, made her want to soothe his fear. _"I... To think, at the beginning, I saw it as a curse_."

He sighed. "_Understandable. I suppose to be bonded to the Lord of the Sith would make anyone view it as a curse. But, how about now?_"

"_Now?_" She wanted to see him, talk to him. With a little effort, Bastila concentrated, focused her mind and watched as the drifting mists of her own mindscape drew apart to show him. She sighed and smiled weakly. "_Now... I... I want you to know that I still love you._"

He walked forward. His mind joining hers in sculpting the mindscape that the bond created, sculpting it to form the illusion of physical reality. Around them, the mist trembled and focused under their feet, to form a flowing solid. Gently, they both let themselves sink onto it, and Revan's hand slipped around hers.

"_This is different to the previous time we were... bonded_." He looked at her sadly and she felt his... apprehension. "_We're more... separate_. _Are you that angry with me, that you want distance?_"

"_No!_" Bastila looked at him, pain in her eyes. "_I would never do that to us... to you. I just... I just feel that it is safer to view the memories of your... darker past with the safety of distance. Well, the distance we can find in our own minds_. _If you or I encounter problems, the other can go for help. If we were bonded as tightly as before, it could be dangerous_."

Revan shook his head. "_That made no sense to me... I think you're making it up. Trying to hide the anger... you know where that leads."_

Bastila sighed at the slight bitterness in his tone. She deserved his... annoyance with her. Concentrating on the disciplines Jolee had taught her, Bastila reined in her wildly swinging emotions.

"_You said we would discuss this later. Please, this is not because of... earlier._"

He stared at her for a few seconds as his own control snapped into place, reining in the growing unease, his own fear. Finally, he nodded and the fist of guilt that gripped her tightly loosened. Relationships, she was rapidly finding, were as hard as mastering the Force. "_I believe you, Bast_."

_"Thank you."_ She whispered, suddenly feeling an odd need touch him. " _The distance I have... willed is to give us protection, I promise you. I have tried to explain it as best as my lessons with Master Vrook and Vandar have taught me. But, the fact remains that this life-bond of ours is so rare, it has hardly been documented in the archives. Those that have had such a thing, remain reluctant to share it."_

"_I think I understand_. Revan managed, pushing away his growing worry that their relationship was... fracturing under the pressure of their problems. "_Well, can we contact Fara? We'll need her help, I think_."

"_Maybe... If we... search the Force outside the bond?_" She closed her eyes and Revan felt her concentrate on Fara's image. "_Master Fara?_"

He joined her, closing his eyes and reaching out with his feelings, trying to fix on the Master healers face... her aura in the Force. "_Master Fara?_"

He felt, rather than heard, the gasp of shock. To his surprise he felt Fara's mind slip backward in defence. "Revan, Bastila... Not so loud!"

"_Loud?_" Bastila murmured her voice in so close as to be inside his ear. "_How are we loud in this place?_"

"_Maybe... maybe when we both focus, it's very powerful..._" Revan paused. "_Remember the blast door? We're both powerful Jedi in our own right. If we use the bond, or fix on a single task together... we're stronger?"_

"_Mmm, I did not think of that._" Bastila's mind was focused on her various lessons as a Jedi, and Revan felt the knowledge trickle into him. "_What do you think_?"

"_I... suppose we can try to... speak quietly?_" He looked 'up' and whispered. "_Master Fara?_"

"That's better... I can hear you." Fara's voice was distant, yet clear. "Are you joined?"

"_Yes, Master Fara._" Bastila felt Revan's worry over the distance she'd imposed and she sighed. What was happening to them? Revan's voice washed over her again. "_It might be best for you to remain as close as possible, while we remain merged to search. It would be safer, for both of us_."

"As I say, I know little about the level of... depth you two must feel, must share." Fara's voice drifted for a second and then focused. "You should continue, I wish you both luck."

Bastila and Revan felt her voice fade once more. In its place, lay a faint thread of the faintest silver... obviously the mental link to her mind. Revan decided to keep a tight grip on the path that led back to her, just in case.

"_We must tread carefully... my love. Are you ready?_" Bastila floated in the gentle mist of their mind, and looked at him with her deep blue eyes. Still linked, still sharing thoughts, emotions... but separate. Revan had never felt so... alone since the bond had made itself known. Since Malak had taken Bastila away from him, suffocating the bond somehow. Bastila felt Revan's apprehension and her face softened. "_What?_"

"_I... feel_." He licked his lips, unable to tell her because of... everything that remained between them suddenly. Unable to tell her, he changed the subject. "_This seems familiar_."

She watched him, sighed. "_This was how I felt when watching your dreams my love, before we... drew closer. The meditation that Vandar taught me, to focus and search for the Starmap's, would let me... draw on your mind... make you dream your fragmented memories. I could... influence your dreaming mind to explore the fragments, hunt for the Starmap's. Once it did, I could... watch and.... feel how you felt_."

Revan looked at her, his face immobile. "_That explains the familiarity_."

"_I am sorry._" Bastila looked away, suddenly ashamed of herself. "_This just reminds me of how much I was manipulating you. Before you even try... I cannot help how I feel, I did this before, without your permission_!"

"_It's fine_." Revan admonished. "_I..._"

"_No, please... I know my sins, please_." She felt the bitterness slip into her once more. Again, he was protecting her... from everything. Even herself. "_Let me have this, deal with this... it's my problem!_"

"_I... sorry_." Revan closed his eyes, and Bastila felt him pull away from her, the bond fading ever so slightly. She felt her heart tug and her mind hammered at her.

"Will I only be happy when I have destroyed... us? What is wrong with me?"

"_We should hurry, the sooner we can leave the shattered part of my mind alone, the better._" Revan glanced around and shivered. "_This is just... odd_."

Bastila shook her head slightly and as Revan tried to decide which way to go, gently slid her arm, ever so hesitantly, into his. "_Come, this way_."

Carefully, the two Jedi walked through the softly shifting, floating mist of the mindscape, felt its soft whisper touch as they walked past. Their destination lay in front of them, a slowly darkening swirl of the light blue fog... deepening in the centre to a blood red.

"_This is so... strange_." Revan whispered, eyeing the vortex with apprehension. "_This is how it felt for you? When you entered my mind, felt my dreams?"_

"No," Bastila whispered back. "_This... this mindscape never existed the previous times. Before, when I... influenced you, it was while you were already asleep."_

"_So this didn't exist before?_" Revan stared at her as she nodded slightly. "_So..._ _what _is_ this?_"

"_I_ _like to think of it as area between the conscious and the subconscious, the part that you are never aware of. This is where dreams, memories are stored. This is the part of the mind that remains hidden, even from you... until now."_

"_So, how do I... find anything?_" Revan felt her pause to stare at the swirling red vortex that lay in front of them. Beyond, the shattered remains of Revan's mind lay in a darkly pulsing fog. As he glanced across, Revan could see the apprehension in her eyes. "_What?_"

"_This is unsettling... how strong this all is_." She looked at him, uneasy. "_We should break it and find another way. Please. Before, I had a good idea what would happen... how to influence your dreams. This... this is dangerous. I have no idea what to influence you to find. This... mindscape is new, and a hint at how powerful the bond is when we both use it. As well as this, the fragments of Revan's mind lie in front of us. They are dangerous, even fragmented_."

"_We have to try..._" Revan frowned in concentration as Bastila stared nervously around, peering into the fog. "_I need you to help me find any memories with this 'Curse of Revan' stuff in them... I need to know, so do the council_."

Bastila stared at him with hurt. He knew that she still obeyed the council, and to use that against her was, to Bastila, almost blackmail. She turned away, even as Revan felt the guilt tear at him.

"_I see. You intend to ignore my advice and continue. I see... I really do_."

"_I... Bastila..._" He watched as she turned back, her upset pounding into him. "_I'm sorry... I am._"

"_Has it fallen apart this quickly?_" She asked him, in a whisper. "_You now no longer trust my judgement because I was... cross with you this morning?_"

"_No,_" Revan swallowed. "_I... this is the only way to keep everyone safe. To spring the trap back on the brotherhood_."

"_There are other ways, troop movements, we could examine the message... something... anything other than walking through the shadows left by Lord Revan_."

"_You know as well as I do that this is pretty much it... hell, I have no idea if we'll even find anything_." He watched as she struggled with this. "_Bastila, I know what I'm doing_."

She surprised him by sighing deeply. "_No. I think you have no idea what this could mean... what could happen. However, I see you have no intention of listening to me, so I will help you._"

"_Thank you... for trusting me_." Revan smiled faintly, only to have Bastila close her eyes and shake her head.

"_I shall begin to focus on the discipline Master Vandar taught me when the bond resurfaced_." Slowly Bastila began to concentrate. "_Remember... what you can. Be ready, for anything._"

Her voice drifted off, her focus centred on the discipline Vandar had taught her. Revan felt a sudden wind blow up from nowhere, the red fog of Revan's fragments swirling more and more violently as the breeze grew in strength. Suddenly, he could hear voices, carried on the wind, drifting and mingling as he strained to hear.

"_Kill them all."_

"_We cannot allow the Mandalorian's to take a foothold_."

"_Revan, you must stop this... it is not the Jedi way_!"

"_The way of the Sith is the way to victory_."

"_Malak is a fool! The Star Forge is a toy. This... this was the curse of the Rakatan_!"

His eyes widened and he grabbed Bastila. His lover gasped in shock, her meditation broken, and as she opened her eyes, the sounds faded. Revan looked around, both surprised and annoyed.

"_No!_" He turned to Bastila as she shook her head slightly and stared at him. "_That was it, I heard it!_"

"_Heard what?_" She asked, puzzled. "_Did you hear something about the curse?"_

"_Yes, Revan's voice... talking about the 'curse of the Rakatan'_." He watched her face crease in thought. "_Can you bring it back?_"

"_Possibly. I was concentrating on the image of that woman in the cloak... her voice_." Bastila looked at Revan with a worried shake of her head_. "This is getting dangerous. Revan... I._"

"_We have to try_."

With a sigh Bastila nodded. "_Very well_."


	25. revenant:chapter5:part4

Bastila, her blue eyes filled with worry, slid them shut once more and let the bond flow through her. She concentrated her entire being on the discipline. She swam through his subconscious, felt his own need to find a memory, a hint, anything as she drifted past. For just a few moments she felt a sense of terrible pain, her face... angry with him, the cause. She felt her centre lurch, wanted to do... something, anything to take the pain she caused him away. But, with the knowledge that both Revan and her friends needed the information contained in Revan's mind, she pushed away from it. Focusing on the fragments of Revan's mind, she reached out slowly... hesitantly, into the floating shattered mess of what remained.

"_Remember, what I show..._" She felt the fog of it shift and.... listen. Slowly, she let the image of the cloaked figure in the message drift out of her mind and fade into the swirling fog. "_Remember..._"

Revan watched silently as his lover focused all her talent on helping his broken mind recall anything. As he listened, the whispering voices shifted, swirled with the rolling fog, that grew more and more violent. A sudden movement off to one side made him gasp and step defensively in front of Bastila's concentrating form. Suddenly another movement to the side had him spinning. There, outlined in the hazy mix of blue and grey fog, stood Juhani.

"_This is my place of dark power! The place which you have invaded_!"

He watched as the hazy figure of his Cathar friend ignited her lightsabre and lunged at him, the blade passing through him like mist, even as he back peddled. He shook his head, remembering the time that Juhani, almost consumed by the darkness, had attacked him in exactly the same way. That must have been a memory... one of his own. He wondered what it would be like to see one of Revan's.

Just as the thought ran through his head, he felt a sudden sliver of agony hammer itself into his skull. He gasped in pain, only to watch in horror as the red fog deepened and swirled violently. Another spike of pain forced him to his knees, and he heard the same pained gasp from Bastila as his pain trickled through the bond into her. She struggled, trying to break the discipline... but her pained expression gave way to one of horror, as it refused.

Staggering around, trying to blot the pain, Revan felt the gentle breeze whip into a frenzied, cold, hurricane. He struggled against its pull, only to feel his feet slowly give way and slide across the mindscape's 'solid' surface. Unable to stop the pull, he stumbled into the red swirling fog.

As the mindscape darkened, the faint light giving way to pulsing red, Revan turned, desperate to find Bastila, to pull them both from this mediation. His eyes widened in horror. She had vanished into the thick fog and he had no idea which way to go to reach her.

Bastila opened her eyes, a sudden feeling of dread permeating her as she looked around a suddenly empty mindscape. The fog, soft and blue, rolled gently as she called her lover's name, unanswered. She turned to stare at the red swirling vortex and licked her lips nervously. "No...."

Reaching into the bond, she touched his life Force, knew he was alive, but missing. Around her, she felt the mental discipline surge and roll, helping Revan investigate the memories of his darker self. Now, however, she knew it was dangerous, as she had stopped mediating a few moments ago, yet the discipline remained, powered by the bond.

"_I knew this was too dangerous now. The bond is too strong, and the fragments carry much darkness, much desire to be seen and felt. Oh, Revan, where are you_?"

Worried, she closed her eyes, and began to hunt the vastness of his subconscious. He had to be there somewhere, drawn into the darker shadows of it, thanks to her meditation. She only hoped that she could find him, before he came to any harm.

Revan knew he was in trouble. He'd lost Bastila, and now the red fog swirled around him, almost with menace. The lack of any landmarks meant he had no idea where he had fallen into Revan's shattered remains. The gale wind that even now tugged at his robes had spun him violently around, he was totally disorientated.

As he tried to focus on the bond, to focus on Bastila... two figures walked out of the blood red mist. Revan gasped in shock, stepping back as they walked calmly towards him, ignored him. To his horror, he felt them pass through him, almost as insubstantial as mist.

Recognising one of the figures, Revan felt a shudder run through him at the face he saw there, shrouded in a dark cloak. There, the mask clamped tightly to his face... stood Lord Revan. Beside him, the female, who had remained cloaked through all of this, and even now remained a mystery. As the two figures continued to walk away from him, Revan followed, cautious, yet fascinated.

_A memory... I'm living a memory from... from him_."

The past, the present.

"You see? Is this not amazing?"His voice... cold, sadistic, delighted"Look at all this, left here by the Rakatan for so long. All of it, forgotten."

"You brought me here for a reason, Master?" Revan scrambled forwards as they walked away, wanting to hear them. "I have so much to do, so much to accomplish for you."

"You doubt the power of what they left behind... their curse." Revan's head snapped around, as his darker self placed one restraining hand on his assassin. "I want you to see that I am right, that this will give me a decisive weapon to use."

"But it has sat here for so long, Master." The cloaked hood swung to her dark lord. "I can't believe it works anymore!"

"What we have found elsewhere still functions, why not this?" Lord Revan waved a hand. "This is power, our power! Come, you need proof."

Revan watched as his other self walked quickly into the darkness, only for the dark red fog to clear in front of him with a billow. Revan could only gape, as the huge pillars and ornate black stone walls of Rakatan design slipped into place. Soon, he found himself in the familiar ancient designs of a Rakatan temple, one that sometime previously, his other self had visited. Whatever was happening, be it a dream, nightmare or vision, this could provide what they needed. He just hoped that Bastila was safe, so that when he next saw her, she could tell him that. "I told you so!"

Revan stared at the two Sith as they walked into a massive chamber. The roof disappeared into the gloom, the floor lit by glowing crystals set into the walls. Around the walls themselves, lay hundreds of faintly glowing purple rods, which to Revan's surprise displayed tiny status displays next to them. Where were they?

"So, where is this proof, Master?" Revan's assassin tilted her head, the cloak still hiding her features.

"Here." Lord Revan turned to the Sith guard standing next to a huge stone column and nodded. With a quick salute, the Sith trooper walked over to a control panel, and hit a few buttons.

"What the..." The assassin gasped, as with a rumble, the stone column began to shift. Slowly, shards of stone and dust pattering to the floor, it rotated into the hidden roof, leaving behind a plexiluminum tube.

"Here, here is the proof." Lord Revan gripped her arm and pulled her close, and Revan, standing back from the two Sith, in the shadows, craned his neck to try and see what lay inside the tube.

"My goddess!" The assassin hissed, and Revan was surprised to hear shock and even disgust in her voice. "How... how long?"

"Five minutes...." Lord Revan's voice was gloating, satisfied. "It's programmable too."

"I... Master, this is."

"I know. Lovely isn't it." Lord Revan turned to her and grinned. "With this, the Jedi will come to know the curse, the curse of Revan. Come, we have much work to do, to prepare for the destruction of the Jedi, and the annihilation of the weak Republic."

Revan watched as the assassin glanced at whatever lay inside the tube, shuddered and then hurriedly strode after her Master. "Master, wait..."

Lord Revan paused at the vast doors to the chamber and turned to her. "What?"

"That... other device. The one we found." She glanced around, obviously afraid of listening devices. Revan smiled slightly. If only she'd known. "Do you really think it'll still work after all these thousands of years?"

"The Forge has lasted all that time, why not that?" Lord Revan sighed. "You are concerned that the acidity of the rain has compromised the temple?"

"Well, no.... Rakatan technology seems to be designed to last. I... I just don't want to trust you to that machine, Master. We have no idea if it's been damaged or if our decrypting of the Rakatan language is correct. Please, don't use it."

"I have already made my mind up." Lord Revan told her, his voice quiet but slightly menacing. "Malak is a fool, he sees only what I wish. You, you I am showing everything. Don't make me doubt that."

"Revan..." The assassin's voice was quiet, almost upset. "I am concerned for your well being, nothing more."

Revan watched as his darker counterpart sighed and nodded.

"I know, but things are progressing beyond my control, or yours. This technology is our inheritance from the Rakatan. With it, the Sith shall be triumphant, I shall be triumphant. You, you will take Malak's place, and rule as my closest ally and confidant."

"Yes, Master."

"Come, don't sound so concerned. I've got our science teams poring over it as we speak. You know that's how we managed to decipher the map left there that led us here. Until they say it's safe to use, I'll stay away from it. Besides, you and I have much work to accomplish before that part of our scheme can be put in place."

"Yes, Master."

The present, the past.

Revan watched as the two Sith walked into the faint flickering image of a doorway and vanish into the blood red fog that lay behind it. Unable to help himself, Revan turned reluctantly to the tube. From his angle, whatever lay at the bottom of the tube remained hidden by a small rim of stone that the rotating section mated with when it descended.

Slowly, Revan walked towards the tube. Whatever had made the assassin of his past shudder, lay at the bottom. Whatever lay at the bottom was a clue to whatever was going on now. Whatever lay at the bottom of the tube had painted it a bright red, a bright, blood red.

Despite the fact that he knew this to be a memory, Revan licked his lips in reluctance. "_Only a memory... almost like a dream... what's in there happened ages ago..."_

He walked slowly towards the tube, and steeling his nerve, looked in.

At the bottom of the tube, lay a Jedi. He could tell, just, from the blood red and dripping robes that clung to the mass of flesh on the base that it had been a Jedi Master. The body was almost... digested, to his eyes. Blood and other bodily fluids had sprayed across the transparent material, eventually pooling when the... woman had stopped... writhing in agony. It had to be a woman, the straggled dripping mass of honey blond hair and what remained of her face made it possible to, just, tell.

Revan turned away, his stomach lurching at the sight of it. Whatever had done that to the young woman was deadly, quite deadly. Trying to centre himself, calling on all his Jedi skills, he turned back to the mess that was once a fellow Jedi.

Her face and body had been ravaged, the skin either dissolved or... eaten away. No scarring or burns that he could see. No cuts or damage by a blade. He leaned in closer... only to bite down on a fresh surge of queasiness as he stared at her face. Ravaged by the same... whatever, her face was now a mass of flesh and pulped skin. Her eyes were gone, milky white with no pupils. Blood had leaked from the corners of her eye sockets and added to the general pool of various fluids.

Revan shook his head and backed away. He'd seen something like this once, and that had been when he, Juhani and Jolee had stormed the Star Forge. He'd come across one of Malak's lieutenants, crushed to a pulp by his former apprentice using the Force. It had looked a lot like this. Except... something else had happened to her, but what... he had no idea. All he knew was that it was his fault... and now, he had to stop it.

A sudden thump, made Revan's blood freeze, and he felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle in sudden unease. Unable to help himself, he turned slowly... and fought back a scream of terror.

There, pressed against the glass, were the pulped remains of the female Jedi. Sticky remains of her own skin and muscle dripped from her as she stared at him with those milky white eyes. Her bloody mess of a mouth, slid open, and, as blood trickled from it, she showed yellowed and rotting teeth.

**"Murdererrr...**" She hissed, her voice gurgling and as rotten as her body. Revan took a step back. **"You try to run from what you were, but this is what you did! This is what you have hidden. You planned for the entire universe to suffer!"**

_"No...."_ Revan whispered, and groaned as the tube holding the dead Jedi slid into vapour. She grinned, rotting bleeding gums holding stumped remains of teeth, and began to shuffle towards him.

**"You are Lord Revan, always were, always will be... though you refuse to acknowledge it... You killed me, as an experiment." **She laughed... the sound almost a death rattle. **"A test, and part of you remembers that. No matter how fragmented your mind has become. **

_"I didn't do that... he did." Revan watched as the memory vanished completely to be replaced with the red fog once more. "There has to be more... what is it? Where is it? Tell me!"_

The Jedi grinned and shook her head. "**You created me to guard this secret, but removed the final knowledge of what the curse was to protect it. Only you could unlock the information to guide you to it... with the right sentence. I'm waiting for it."**

Revan stared at her. _"You... you're a program? A defence? What secret are you protecting?"_ He could feel no life from the figure... or a mind. Only patterns, complex, rooted in the darkside of the Force. Almost... Rakatan in nature? _"Rakatan... the defences here are Rakatan? Not Sith?"_

**"Sentence not recognised." She grinned, malevolently. "Now, what you created to protect your darkest secret gives you one more chance. Awaiting verification!"**

_"I have to stop them, I need the information you have!"_ Revan backed away from her, heart hammering in his chest. The Force meditation flickered around him, surrounded him. But, the focus of it was in front... the patterns that defined its purpose. A program created in the Force as others would in a computer... so like the Rakatan. _"You're not real. This mind is destroyed, shattered... you don't need to protect anything!"_

**"Ah, yes I do. Destroyed or not, I will fulfil my purpose."** She smiled stepped forwards once more**. "Ever hear of Force based traps? Revan was powerful. He had many secrets he needed to protect. There are many here that you, anyone... does not need to know, yet. Verification denied... Accessing termination protocols." **

_"Stop!"_ Revan looked around, desperate. He could feel... it and knew it could harm him. _"I created you once... Stop!"_

As he slipped backwards, away from her, the dead Jedi grinned. **"You are my creator no longer. I was created to kill those who attempt to access the information you found. I have killed none so far. But now... Now I must kill the mind I was created in. That is my function... that is my purpose."**

Unable to stand looking at her, unable to stand the stench of rotting flesh and foul fluids, realising it was hopeless, Revan turned and ran through the fog.

**"There's nowhere to go, you've gone too far into the little of what remains! Too close to the secrets you wanted to keep hidden. There is no escape... I will complete my purpose!"** She called after him, before vanishing in a puff of red fog.

Revan ran through the dark shattered remains of his past life, struggling to fight the fear that threatened his mind. Part of him knew that this was what that... trap, wanted. But knowing and trying to stop himself were two different things.

"_Bastila..._" This one thought ran constantly through Revan's mind. "_Don't think about that Jedi's death, that's what it wants... fear... fear leads to the darkside... make it stronger... I have to find Bastila... get out of here!"_

"_Find Revan, get out of this dark hole_." Bastila muttered, staring into the swirling blood red fog. The bond shivered and led into the swirling vortex of what little shattered remains of Revan's past remained. She'd tried everything she could think of to contact him, inside his own mind, but the bond, and her lover had remained silent. Trying to contact Revan inside his own mind and failing... the irony was not lost on her.

Now, she stood, gazing into the dark blood red fog and feeling the dark side trickling around it, teasing her, tormenting her.

"_Revan?_" She called into the darkness, a feeling of dread washing over her. "_Revan, can you hear me?_"

She waited, shivering in the feeling of cold that slipped form this dark place. The fragments of Revan's mind had gravitated to the darkness that remained inside of her lover, the kernel of the dark side that lived in all of them. She knew that entering the area was dangerous. The strength of the bond had twisted the discipline she had used once before to pull the memories of the Starmap's from Revan's mind to something new. She and Revan were not safe from anything here. Coming to a decision, she stepped back and closed her eyes.

Reaching deeper into herself, she grasped her own control of the Force tightly and called out one name, the name of the Jedi who had promised to help them if something like this occurred. "_Fara.... I need your assistance!_"

Revan ran aimlessly. The fog had darkened even further, and now it pulsed with darker shadows than before. He stopped, staring around him with dread. _"Wrong way, damn!"_

He jumped as a hand suddenly brushed his shoulder. Spinning, he turned, only to see nothing. Another touch... this time on his back. He span once again, his heart hammering in his chest. Nothing...

"_No emotion, only peac... gah!" _He managed... only for another touch, this one wet, to brush lightly against his neck. "_Hello? Sith spit! Stay calm, your fear is feeding this, it's what... that, wants."_

Revan backed off, only to bump against a solid object. Turning, he gasped in shock. He was pressed against a smooth curved wall, black... freezing to the touch. He stepped back, craining his head as his eyes looked upwards. It stretched off into the distance, the fog dancing around the top above him. He felt the chill that emanated from it, felt dark side pulsing through it. This was dangerous...

"_Is this the kernel of darkness that Uthar spoke of? Is this mine?_" He stared at the sight of his own darkness and felt a shiver pass through him. _"This is... my darkness? It's so... big. Jolee was right... I have a shadow on my soul... following me everywhere I go."_

A sudden sound of shuffling made him spin round. There, in the dark, hundreds of eyes, only detectable by their faint reflection of the weak light, stared at him. He stared back, there were thousands of them.

As the fog faded, he found himself standing in a mass of people. Every single one of them stared at him, and each had some sign of death. Revan span, feeling his fear rise once more at the sight of them, surrounding him. Suddenly they all raised one arm and pointed at him.

**"Murdererrr!" **A voice... No, thousands... all were speaking at once. **"You killed all of us, you are guilty!"**

"_No! Lord Revan did that, not me_!" Revan felt their hands begin to claw at his robes and he fought rising panic. "_This isn't real, it's an illusion! I'm in my own head, my own mind."_

**"And how does that make it any different?"** The voices asked him in unison, hundreds of shadowy figures stepping out of the red fog to claw at him. Revan stared at them all, hundreds... and held back a scream as they clawed at his robes... trying to drag him into the dark. **"The darkness calls for you, you will answer."**

_"Sith, no!"_ Revan cried out as the hands of all the people Lord Revan had once killed, dragged him slowly backwards. _"Someone help me!"_

He struggled, fighting the clawing, grabbing hands. Calling on the Force, Revan yanked himself backwards, away from their grasping fingers. Desperate, he pulled himself to his feet and ran as fast as possible. More figures, people he didn't recognise of so many species, so many faces, more came sliding from the red swirling fog of what remained of Lord Revan's mind. Fear swamped him, cold and clammy as he fought to free himself from their grabbing hands.

**"Join us... join the dead."**

As he began to feel the hands win, to pull him towards the scrabbling shadows of the dead, he felt the bond burst into glorious life, a shining thread that burned with Bastila's life-Force.

_"Revan!"_ Her desperate voice called out. _"Revan where are you!?"_

"Bastila!" He called back, feeling the bond between them surge past the oppression of the dark side as she got closer to him. "Where?"

_"I'm here, I'm coming."_ She struggled to reach him, past the trap that Revan had triggered by going to deep into what remained of Revan's mind. She tried to ignore the shadows of the dead. Her own experiences with Revan's shattered remains had steeled her against this, and she pushed past them. _"This is all an illusion, powered by the Force. Revan was protecting something!"_

_"I know! I got something... but the rest of it is protected by this... thing. We have to get out!"_ Revan batted the hands that reached for him, out of the closing red fog, aside. _"I can't find the way out, I've been trying to find the way... trying to find you."_

_"You have gone too far into what remains of his mind, into the darkness of your subconscious."_ Bastila reached for the man she loved, felt her own arm covered in bloody scratches from all these... things. She had to reach him, had to_. "Revan..."_

He felt her fingers, warm, powerful, and alive, grip him and pull. The hands of the dead tugged at his robes, trying to pull him back to the darkness of the trap that the shattered remains still held, but Bastila was stronger. With a huge effort, she pulled him close and held him tightly.

_"Come, we must hurry. Fara is pouring every ounce of her own ability with the Force into the link we have created. It was the only way I could enter this far into Revan's darkness and not lose my way back. See?" _

Revan saw the thin line of light stretching into the depths of this darker area of his subconscious. Bastila's hand slipped into his, and she began to gently pull him with her.

Revan looked at her as they ran along the blinding white thread. _"Thanks, for saving me from myself."_

Bastila's eyes flicked across to him as they ran, the clawing, screaming figures fading into the red fog. _"Just promise me one thing. Never, ever ask me to do this again! I told you that the bond had changed things between us, it's too strong now and these fragments yearn to be felt, tainted as they are by the darkside."_

_"I..." _

The snap of a lightsabre made them both slide to a halt. There, standing between them and the swirling vortex of red fog that lead to Revan's unshattered mind, stood the rotting Jedi. Bastila's hand flew up to her mouth and she gagged on the smell of rotting flesh.

**"You cannot escape. I must fulfil my purpose."**

_"He's gone! His mind shattered! I'm all that's left!"_ Revan stepped in front of Bastila, missing her frown as he did so. _"Let us go!"_

**"I cannot. You have to be destroyed."** The Jedi darted forwards, missing narrowly with the blade as Bastila yanked Revan sideways**. "You did not give me the correct access code."**

_"Revan, we have to get past her... she's feeding off our Force!"_ Revan glanced at her. _"The remains of Revan's mind cannot focus the Force. We woke this... program up, with our prying. It's feeding of you... your Force, like a parasite!"_

The Jedi swung her lightsabre again, and Revan cried out as the blade slashed against his arm, leaving a smouldering line. _"What the..."_

_"It's using the Force to attack us... Revan, get out of the way!"_ Bastila stood quickly and ran at the Jedi blocking the only exit. With a grin, the Jedi raised her lightsabre and swung, only for Bastila to smoothly grip the hilt and hold on tightly. _"Revan, run... for the exit!"_

_"But, Bast..."_

"_Do as I say! It's using your Force power! If you leave, it will shut down!"_ Bastila staggered as the Jedi began to jerk and grapple with her. _"Go! I cannot hold on much longer!"_

Revan staggered to his feet, the burn across his arm screamed at him as he did so. Gathering himself, Revan ran towards the flickering red vortex, the exit point of the shattered dark lord's mind, and back to his own.

Bastila groaned as the Jedi, the Force defence-program... wrenched her off her feet and flung her against the swirling 'floor' of the mindscape. She had a second to take in a breath of air, only to release it in a scream as the lightsabre plunged into her shoulder.

Revan span, to see Bastila writhing on the floor. He moved to turn back... help her, but she gritted her teeth and shook her head at him. _"No.... RUN!"_

Revan turned, and praying to the Force that Bastila was right, pushed his way into the swirling red fog. He felt giddy for a few moments... and then fell against the blue pulsing fog of his own mindscape. With a groan, he felt the fear, the confusion suddenly lift as the... thing Lord Revan had placed to protect his memory of the curse lost its hold on his Force power

_"Bastila..."_ He whispered, staring at the swirling fog_. "Please be safe..."_

Suddenly the vortex shifted violently, and Revan reared back, worried that the program had followed him to his mind. But the figure that appeared clutched her arm gently, and familiar blue eyes stared at him in pain. _"Revan..."_

_"Sith, you're hurt!"_ He slid to his feet, only for her to shake her head. _"Bast, that needs to be looked at."_

_"This is all in our mind, created by the bond, our Force powers... We need to leave, now!"_ She groaned, the blood trickling down her arm all to real to Revan. _"Concentrate... we need to return."_

With a nod, and a final glance at her bleeding arm, Revan touched her gently and closed his eyes. Together, they concentrated on retreating from the mindscape the bond provided... Revan felt Bastila's mind join his, focus, as he was, on returning to the physical world.

Back to Reality

With a flicker of light Revan felt the real world return to him and he slowly opened his eyes. To his surprise, Revan found himself staring up at the ceiling of the meditation chamber.

"Bastila?" Revan slid to his knees, only to have a worried Fara jab him suddenly with a Kolto needle. He shook his head and the room span. "Ow."

"Careful," Fara steadied him, and he felt another pair of hands slip around him as Bastila slid into view. Fara sighed and he felt her administer another shot of Kolto. "It seems Revan's legacy to you includes some rather nasty mental disciplines. Bastila was strong enough to pull you out of their grip, but I would suggest you stay well away from that area of your mind for a time."

"What was that? I know it was a protection... but nothing I have ever seen was like that." Bastila frowned at Fara and the healer sighed.

"As I told you, a Sith of Revan's power would have created... protections for his more private thoughts. Many Sith do, as a rather nasty surprise to their apprentices, the ones who manage to surpass them. It seems that some of Lord Revan's protections have survived the shattering of his mind. Now, they attack any who invade the memory they protect, even Revan himself."

"I'm not that Revan, that's why she... it attacked me." Revan murmured, wiping the blood from his face. "So, it was a protector, but why attack me with the illusion of all the dead that Lord Revan killed? He'd be unaffected by that, so would most Sith. Means to an end, even Yuthura'll tell you that."

"I would suggest that it was designed to attack the thing you fear the most." Fara licked her lips. "For me, possibly hundreds of people crying for aid, and I can't assist them. For you, the fear of all the innocents he, and as you keep believing, you... killed"

Revan nodded, the thought that it had attacked Bastila... hurt her to make him pause hovered at the back of his mind. "Oh the brighter side of things, I may have a lead."

Bastila's hand tightened on his shoulder and she leaned in. "What?"

"There was a mention of a planet in the dream that could be a good place to start. A planet with acid rain... They found something there, and a map that led Revan to something that he called the 'Curse of the Rakatan'... a weapon."

"A planet with acid rain?" Bastila frowned. "That is a beginning I suppose, but do you have any idea how many planets have a hostile environment like that?"

"I know, but it's a start."

"We must inform the Council at once." Bastila pulled Revan to his feet and with a slight hesitation, ran her hands across his face. "Master Jestra should begin to hunt the archives for any planets containing a atmosphere that allows acid rain and a dark side aura, that should narrow it down even further. Once we have that, the spirit can take us to each one."

"What would I do without you?" Revan murmured, only for Bastila shake her head.

"That was dangerous... I never wish to do that gain. If you ask me, I will refuse. We both almost died!"

He felt her pull back and he sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't think it would be that dangerous."

"I told you it could be!" Bastila snapped suddenly. "But helpless Bastila, Bastila who knows more about the Force than you, could be ignored!"

Fara watched quietly as the young woman shuddered and reined in her temper. She sighed inwardly and felt a tug of empathy at the looks of shame, upset and worry that slipped across Revan's face.

"I did listen, but this was the only way..." Revan trailed off as a trickle of blood suddenly snaked from Bastila's nose and she winced. "By the Force, you're hurt!"

He moved to help her, but she stood quickly, warding him off. "I do not need to be saved all the time! I'm capable of looking after myself!"

"Bast..." Revan began, only to have Fara gently place a hand on his arm.

"Bastila, that needs tending to. Come, sit." Fara patted the soft carpet in front of her, but Bastila shook her head forcefully.

"No, I can do this myself." She ignored the room as it slowly began to spin and slipped her defences in place as Revan tried to read her through the bond. "Go and see the council, I'll be there shortly."

"But..."

"Please, do as I say... I will be along soon." Bastila walked out, trying to walk normally, even as her legs wobbled.

Revan sighed, watching her go and glanced up as Fara touched him gently. "Trouble?"

"I... I... yes." He finished, watching as she gently took his wrist and timed his pulse. "Healer Fara... Do you... are we."

She looked at him and smiled softly. "I think you are having what everyone in a relationship has."

Revan stared at her and swallowed. "What?"

"Bastila is trying to set boundaries." Fara stared after the young woman and sighed. "She is a strong woman, capable and intelligent. She feels you are being overprotective."

Revan sighed at her gentle tone and felt his hands slip up to hold his face. "In your professional opinion, am I?"

"Do you think you are? That is the question you should ask both yourself and Bastila." Fara watched as Revan struggled with his emotions, only to sigh and gaze at her with restrained misery.

"What... how can I fix this? I need her...." He admitted. "I love her. How do I sort this... barrier between us? How do I stop this from going any further?"

"I have found, with all relationships, that when couples fight, the only solution is to talk." Fara slipped backwards from him and gazed at him with compassion. "You both have things to say, to feel. You want to reassure her that she is strong... that you want to keep her safe, but not coddle her."

"Yes." Revan whispered. "I want to protect her when she can't protect herself."

"I understand that, but Bastila does not. From what I have seen, what I know from the academy records, Bastila is very independent. She grew up abandoned, or so she thought, by her parents. Hated, again she thought, by her mother. She found she had to rely on herself to cope, survive. Later, when her battle meditation surfaced... she finds she has to save the universe on her own. How do you think that made her feel?"

Revan sighed and shrugged weakly. "Alone, and in danger. It's how I'd feel."

"I would agree." Fara whispered. "Then along you come, Revan the redeemed dark lord. Along comes a bond, personal, intense and frightening. You are in love with her, and she is falling for you. Now she has someone who keeps getting in the way, helping her to fight battles that she fought on her own. I think... I feel, that Bastila is trying to work out where the line needs to be drawn, as do you."

"I want to help her face danger... not stop her doing so. Look at just now, she saved me from that thing... and was hurt. I... I fear for her."

"Then the only thing I can suggest, is that you tell her that... that you talk together and solve these problems." Fara slid to her feet and with a bow, watched as Revan slid slowly upright, a faint frown on his face. "The Force deemed you to be together. Both you and she risked everything to save the other. I think that together, you will find the solution."

Revan nodded and he bowed to Fara. "Thank you, Healer Fara."

"No thanks is needed, Revan." Fara smiled and gently touched his heart. "The solution is in there... for the both of you."

Jedi medical wing. One hour later.

Jolee dealt the third hand as Mission watched him warily. To her abject horror, she was down two games, another hand and she would be the one fetching caffa. To add to her horror, she now felt annoyed. Jolee knew how close he was and kept grinning at her in a distracting way.

"Kid?" Jolee cocked an eyebrow and Mission felt her blue skin prickle with sweat. "Well?"

"Don't rush me, ya bantha herder. I'll deal." She watched as Jolee flipped the card gently into the group of cards that lay in front of her. "Okay, that's something I can deal with."

"Heh, not to rush you, but my caffa is getting cold sitting in the replimat."

"Sithspit, give me a chance, ya old wrinkly." Mission stared at the cards in her hand and then at the numbers on the table. She sighed and flipped down on of her prized dual cards. "Right, twenty! Beat that old man."

"Hmm," Jolee slowly flipped himself a card and grinned. "Eighteen, now then."

Mission watched in horror as Jolee's wizened hand hovered over his own hidden deck cards and then selected one. She held her breath, knowing... just knowing that this would be one of the few times she would loose a game.

"Uh, oh my Lekku." A gravelly voice groaned behind them, making Jolee spin round, all interest in the game forgotten. "What happened to me?"

"Well, from what Revan told me, a very large hunk of permacrete." Jolee laid a gentle hand on Yuthura Ban's arm and smiled. "How do you feel?"

Yuthura stared at him, her face creased against the throbbing pain in her lekku. The tails themselves curled in defence around the pillow and she groaned again. "Like I got hit on the head with a lump of permacrete! How do you think?!"

"Well at least your wit survived the hit." Jolee closed his eyes and concentrated for a second. To Yuthura's surprise, the pain faded and then vanished totally. "There, that should put you back in a good mood."

"Thank... thank you." She managed, cursing inwardly at how strained it sounded. "What happened?"

"You tell us," Mission chipped in. "You're the one who ended up in the middle of a burning building."

"I... I remember walking back to my quarters, from the Cantina. I'd just reached the corridor my room was accessible from when... when something hit me. I... I remember heat and the concussive blast... it made me fall against the wall, hard. I hit my Lekku, made me disoriented for a while." Yuthura winced at the memory of pain. "Next thing I know, the ceiling roof tiles are falling on top of me, and as I tried to get out from under them, Juhani staggered past."

"She didn't see you," Mission told her defensively. "All that smoke an stuff!"

"I am not attacking her, little one." Yuthura snapped, again regretting it at the sight of Missions own anger. "All I said was is that she ran past me, obviously heading for my room."

"Right." Mission glanced down at the patient next to her and Yuthura frowned.

"Where is Juhani? Last I recall is swinging above this burning pit."

"_Heh, useless_." The raspy voice of her previous self was full of scorn and Yuthura groaned. "_I'd almost hoped you'd suffered permanent brain damage. Being free of your whining and whimpering about the darkness and all this regret is sickening. To have life in your comatose body would be a blessing_."

"Shut up!" Yuthura muttered, only to look up and see Jolee and Misson staring at her in shock. "Not you two."

"Okay," Jolee frowned for a few seconds, but let it go. "To answer your question, Juhani is right next to you."

Yuthura felt a chill swamp her. Why, she had no idea. "Why? Is she alright?"

"When she rescued you, she inhaled a lot of the smoke from your room. It seems that the smoke from there was acidic, highly acidic. She took it into her lungs and of course, it began to dissolve them."

Yuthura felt her stomach lurch, and she struggled to sit up, to crane her neck. There, lying on the bed next to her lay Juhani. Yuthura's eyes took in the pale skin under the golden fur, the various tubes and machinery attached to her Cathar saviour and she shook her head in guilt.

"No.... Oh no." Yuthura felt a huge lump lodge in her throat, felt her stomach roll at the sight of the brave, fiery Cathar lying so very still. "Oh, Juhani."

Mission's eyes widened as she watched Yuthura's Lekku coil in guilt and horror. The ancient language of her people was impossible to lie with, to other Twi'lek... She realised, right then and there, that Yuthura Ban really had changed. Maybe not a Jedi, not yet. But she was so like Juhani... when Mission had first met the Cathar, that it was startling. Mission felt an urge to try and reassure the ex Sith.

"Hey, don't worry." Mission licked her lips as the pale purple eyes piercingly focused on her. "Ju's a fighter, always has been. The medic said she had, like, no chance. But she's still breathing an that kolto is doin its job. I think she'll be okay."

Yuthura swallowed, felt a slight relief trickle through her. She would live. Juhani was a fighter, that she knew. "I hope so, by my gods I do."

Jolee looked across at Mission... saw the exhaustion caused by the past two hours. With a sigh, he came to a decision. "Yuthura, I need a favour."

Yuthura frowned at the old Jedi and cocked an eyebrow. "A favour? From a Sith Master?"

"No, I need a favour from an ex-Sith, missy." He watched as she flushed a deep purple and smiled. "Old men like me need to sit down for a while dammit! So, I need you to look after Juhani. Mission needs a break too, and we both want caffa. So, be a good girl, and look after our Cathar patient for us, okay?"

Yuthura stared at him, suddenly too tired to argue. "Very well."

"_You are so pathetic_!" The voice in her head murmured, full of disgust as Jolee and Mission walked quietly out of the ward. Yuthura closed her eyes and concentrated on the discipline Fara had taught her. "_Screen me out all you want, I'll be waiting Yuthura!"_

The voice faded and Yuthura sighed in relief. Her eyes flicked to the still Cathar, and she came to a decision. Slowly, she slid out of the medical bed and her bare feet hit the floor with a slap. With only a slight wobble in her step, Yuthura slowly pattered to Juhani's bedside and crumpled into the chair next to it.

"Why did you come into that burning building?" She asked the still form on the bed. "You were such a fool to do so!"

Juhani remained unresponsive, only the click and beep of the life-support pack as it administered kolto in regular shots, broke the silence.

"Why did you come? Why?" Yuthura glanced around and, finding no one hesitantly slipped a hand around the Cathar's. "Please, you have to fight this! I cannot have your blood on my conscious... too much innocent blood has been spilled for me. Force, I would give anything to have you safe and sound. You are worth far more than a crippled ex-Sith..."

She stopped, unable to stop the self-loathing at how weak she sounded. She wanted to let go of Juhani's hand, but some part of her ignored the feeling and gripped it tightly.

Suddenly, without a second's warning, the hand Yuthura gripped convulsed. Her pale purple eyes widened in fear as a great shuddering cough burst from Juhani's lungs, and the Cathar's eyes flickered.

"Juhani? Juhani can you hear me?" Yuthura looked around and spotting a medic walking past the ward yelled. "Hurry! She's awake, Juhani's awake!"

The medic appeared again in the doorway and, seeing the gasping coughing Cathar, ran into the room. "Okay... she'll be okay."

"What's happening?" Yuthura demanded, unable to keep the worry out of her voice. "Talk to me by Sith!"

"It's fine, the pack has given her a stimulant to wake her up, it's managed to repair the damage to her lungs." The medic clicked a button and the life support pack slid off Juhani with a click.

Yuthura blinked as she got a quick image of Juhani's naked, smoothly furred, stomach, and then the medic pulled the bed sheets over the Cathar. "Stay with her, this has all been a tremendous shock to her system. I'll go and get her some herbal tea, to help her relax."

"But I..." Yuthura began, only to sigh as the medic walked briskly out. "I have no idea what to say to her."

Juhani groaned and Yuthura's eyes flicked to the Cathar's face. Her eyes remained closed, but she was obviously conscious. Yuthura leaned in close. "Rest Juhani, I'm here. You're safe."


	26. revenant:chapter5:part5

Jedi Council.

"Yes Master Vandar, a planet with acid rain." Revan finished his report on his memory. "This seems to be the place where Revan found the map that led to this 'Curse of the Rakatan'."

Vandar pursed his lips and entwined his fingers. "Hmmm, interesting. But there are so many planets with a hostile atmosphere like the one you speak of, Revan."

"Well, Bastila has an idea that could discount some." Revan glanced at his lover and motioned gently to her.

Bastila stepped forwards, as the Jedi Council members looked towards her. "Masters, we all know that a facility designed by the Rakatan will produce a strong dark side aura. The more active the facility, the greater the dark side aura. We should compile reports on the planets that match Revan's memory, with the reports of dark side sense from the various Jedi for as far back as the records allow."

Vrook shook his head. "Even with that narrowing it down, it leaves far to many planets to explore. You do not have enough time, the Sith have already moved against you!"

"But." Revan began, only to have Vandar hold up a hand.

"No, you have such little time. Perhaps it might be safer to stay here in the Enclave and await them coming to you. Strength in numbers."

"I refuse to wait for them to attack me in the Enclave. Too many innocent people are here every day, and besides," Revan glanced at Bastila, felt the fear for her safety and shook his head. "Assassins will hardly attack me in the open. All it takes is for them to get lucky once, and I or Bastila or one of my friends could die! I won't let that happen!"

"Such arrogance and anger!" Vrook snorted and Revan sighed as Bastila placed a single restraining hand on his shoulder. "So, what would you suggest?"

Revan glanced at Bastila and opened his mouth to speak, but she gasped before he could get out a single word. He glanced over, realising that she had felt his intentions through the bond.

"No!" She told him firmly, gripping his face with her hands and staring into his eyes. "I will not let you sacrifice yourself for me, or them! Not when we have other ways to fight this."

"I'm not sacrificing myself," Revan muttered defensively, knowing that she could read him like a holocube through the bond. "I was just taking the target away from innocents."

"By taking a single freighter into Sith space? What would you do when the Sith finally captured you?" Bastila fought against her rising fear and swallowed deeply. "But then, you have no intention of allowing yourself to be captured by them, do you?"

"Bast..."

"Do not 'Bast' me Revan!" She whispered her voice full of pain. Unable to look into his eyes anymore, she turned away from him and he felt her call to him in the bond.

_"You would sacrifice yourself for me, and for them, again! When will your sacrifices be enough Revan?" _Revan winced, even as the Jedi council stared at the two of them patiently._ "Is it not enough that you almost died trying to bring me to the light, to rectify the terrible mistake that you and Malak brought to the galaxy?"_

_"It's not about redemption Bastila."_ Revan tried, knowing how futile it was before he began. _"It's about keeping you safe, them safe. I was all for trying to find and stop them before this all began, but from the looks of it, that's impossible. The least I can do, for them and for you, is to get the target away, me."_

Vandar coughed politely. "What you intend... that would be foolish. What if they capture you? You would become a dark lord again, unstoppable."

"Because he has no intention of being captured Master!" Bastila's voice rose. "He intends to act as a sacrifice, and once he's got them where he wants them, he'll kill himself in some foolish last ditch enterprise!"

Vandar looked at Revan, realised that the young Jedi was silent. "Revan?"

Revan turned to Vandar and sighed. The old Master had expected him to show anger, even rage at Bastila's insight into his plan. Instead, all he could feel, all he could see, was despair.

"What else should I do? Can I do?"

Vrook snorted, but Vandar tapped is cane with thought. "I see, so you would sacrifice yourself to protect them? A noble sacrifice indeed. I asked you this once, and I do again. Would the reward be worth the cost?"

"There are a number of people who would say yes, Master. Thousands."

"And yet there is one who would feel nothing is worth that, not even her own life." Vandar murmured softly and watched as Revan hunched in defeat. "I also doubt your friends would also agree. Even the ex-Sith Master would frown on such an enterprise."

"Yuthura frowns a lot, about a great deal of things." Revan muttered. He could feel Bastila's pain, annoyance... her upset and it attacked his very core. "What else can I do?"

"I would suggest you begin searching the various matching planets." Vandar tapped his cane once more. "With the Spirit under Carth Onasi's command acting as your base. With Captain Denarra commanding its Republic troops, I think any Assassin will find it hard to reach you there."

"I suppose so." Revan managed.

"You can use the Sprit to hunt for the planet in your memory. Once you find it, we can send as many Jedi to aid you when the location of this 'curse' is found. Remember though, a Jedi is never alone, he or she has the Force as an ally."

_"Revan, You really know how to wound me, my love."_ Bastila whispered through the bond, as Vandar assured Revan that the Force was the answer.

_"I don't mean to,"_ He whispered back. _"I'm trying to find a way to keep you safe."_

A sudden commotion at the entrance to the Council chamber made the Masters and two Jedi look in surprise to the open corridor.

There, standing with a Jedi Padawan under his arm, was HK47. The Padawan struggled against the metal arm securing him, but as HK was designed to defeat Jedi assassins, a gift from Revan's past self, he was finding it almost impossible. Next to him, beeping in a frightened and warning tone, was T3.

"HK! Put him down!" Revan yelled, quickly striding up to the blood red droid. "Put him down!"

"Statement: As you wish, Master." The droid dropped the Padawan, who fell to the ground with a thump. Even as Revan crouched to help him up, the droid audibly sniffed. "Discretion: I had to perform this act Master, please do not be angry with me. According to the tin ca.... the droid next to me. He has valuable and important information regarding our quest."

"That may be, but it doesn't explain why you had to manhandle a Padawan."

"That droid of yours wears the dark side like a cloak Revan!" Vrook sighed and shook his head. "This assault on one of our students is proof that he is dangerous!"

"Objection: Have I been placed in the list of those that are disallowed entry into the Council chambers?" HK asked, almost plaintively, Revan thought with a frown. "If not, then why did this Padawan bar me entry?"

"Most people wait for us to finish debating, HK47, was it not?" Vandar murmured, almost amused, much to Vrook's horror. "Still, no harm has been done to young Kyysk."

The young Padawan picked himself up off the floor and stared at the droid with suspicion. "I said it couldn't come in, but it wouldn't listen, Master's. When I stepped in front of it with my lightsabre, it walked up to me and.... grabbed the hilt."

"Objection: I do not appreciate meatbags holding offensive weapons near me, I can never tell what they may do with them. Normally, my course of action would have been to remove both the weapon and the meatbags means of using it." HK paused and his red eyes flickered. "In deference to my Masters woeful appreciation for human life, I decided to just remove the weapon."

Revan sighed, as did the entire Council. Bastila merely shook her head, too shaken by Revan's plan to muster any emotional response. Quietly, she stepped away from the Council dais, and slid against the wall. How many times would Revan try to sacrifice himself for her, for the Republic? He'd warned her against that path herself, and yet, despite this, he was trying to walk it himself.

"_Both of us are damaged, the dark side has scarred us in some way_." She thought privately, only faintly aware of Revan quietly scolding the red assassin bot. "_While I still feel such terrible guilt, Revan feels guilt I cannot imagine. He tries to hide it from me, and he can, but it escapes occasionally. But then, knowing you were once a monster... how worse is it, not knowing, not being able to remember what it is you are guilty of? Is that why he always tries to protect me? To... atone for the damage he did. Does he... blame himself for Malak taking hold of me? What do we do? How can we find a way through this mess... What do I do, or think?"_

Revan paused, fading out HK's defensive response, as he felt Bastila's sorrow chill him. He looked around, his dark eyes catching her smooth blue ones instantly. For a second, they stared at one another, the bond giving each the others emotions. Each could feel the thoughts and fears of the other, in such a depth, that words would only scratch the surface. Bastila's bone deep fear over their relationship and its problems made Revan sigh. Despite all their problems, she loved him, desperately.

"Master?" HK47 broke into Revan's thoughts and the Jedi turned to stare at the droid. "May the rust bucket explain why it has dragged me here?"

Feeling Bastila slip into place by his side, Revan stifled a sigh and nodded. "Sure, why _are_ you here?"

The star droid extended a holoprobe and a shimmering hologram of a chemical structure appeared in the middle of the room. All the Jedi turned to look at it, and Revan shook his head.

"Detailed chemistry not being something I excel on, care to enlighten me?"

"Explanation: This is the detailed breakdown of the acidic compound that damaged the Cathar meatbag's lungs. The tin can here, downloaded this from the medical computer."

"Would you mind explaining what he was doing downloading confidential medical information?" Vrook's voice was frosty, but HK shrugged.

"Explanation: The tin can here was interested in the chemical composition of the smoke that obviously carried this acid compound into the Cathar's lungs. It seems that we may have another clue as to the location of the Brotherhood, Master."

Revan's head snapped up, and he felt Bastila tighten her grip on his arm. "Explain."

"Affirmation: Yes, Master. It would seem that the explosive used to crack the permacrete of the building is a rare composition of two elements. According to the can here, there are three locations in the galaxy that currently mine and sell these elements."

"Only three?" Bastila asked the red droid. "Are you certain?"

"Yes, Mea..." HK looked at Revan, and his eyes flickered. "Jedi Bastila. It would seem so. These elements are so rare, due to the planet composition and atmosphere needed to allow the elemental structure to form."

"Do you know the names of the planets?" Revan's eyes gleamed, for once he felt hopeful, almost eager.

"Affirmation: Yes, Master. They are Vjun, Pegarsus and Kessel."

Bastila glanced over as Jestra coughed slightly for attention. The young woman shuffled slightly and pressed a few buttons on a pad. "Only two planets can rain acid, Vjun and Kessel. Kessel is far less likely though. It is a Republic owned planet."

"What about dark side auras? Revan asked her quietly, feeling the relief flow out of Bastila. "Have we reports from any Jedi in that area?"

Jestra tapped a few commands into the memo pad she held and frowned in concentration. "Hmmm, we have two reports, both from Jedi on other missions. It seems Jedi Sjert was on a mercy mission to Pren, when he was forced to head to Vjun to avoid a Sith patrol. As he flew over the planet, he sensed a cold take him."

Bastila nodded with growing hope. "This is looking more hopeful."

"The second is one from the Master who was assigned to..." Jestra looked up in surprise. "Assigned to trainee Ban..."

"What?" Revan shook his head. "You mean that Yuthura has been to Vjun?"

"Yes, as part of a survival skills lesson." Jestra hit the pad and more text scrolled on the screen. "Vjun has nothing of use, and her Master thought it would be useful to demonstrate the hostility of some worlds. While there, they came across a depression in the acid pitted earth. It led to a sealed door, unknown design. Her Master sensed a great darkness, and he decided to report it."

"Why did no one follow up the report?" Vandar asked quietly, studying his cane. "Usually we send Jedi to locations such as that."

"Um, it was a few months after Revan began his attack as leader of the Sith, Master." Jestra shrugged. "The Council deemed it more important that all Jedi continue with their assigned tasks. But a report was placed into the Archives... I can't explain how it was not followed up."

"Satisfaction: Master, it seems that we have a target. Shall I load the Hawk with as much weaponry as possible?"

Revan glanced at the droid, a reluctant smile playing across his lips. "Maybe. I'll let you know."

Vandar glanced at the other Council members and nodded slowly. "Hmm, it would seem that you have a starting point, Revan. Yes... I think that you should begin the search at Vjun, and be careful."

Revan gripped Bastila's hand tightly and she flinched slightly in surprise. The grip was one of reassurance, not protectiveness. "Yes, Master. Safety is the first thing on my mind."

"I thought it was something else." Bastila murmured, unable to help herself. Revan glanced over, his smile fading as he took in her conflicted expression. He knew that his previous decision had only just begun to be discussed. Another problem to add to all the ones that crowded around them. "_Yes... I... we will discuss this later_."

Licking his lips in worry, Revan turned to Vandar and bowed slightly. "With your permission, Master?"

"A moment before you go, Revan." Vandar inspected his cane. "May I ask who you are taking with you to Vjun?"

Revan frowned and nodded slowly at the small green Jedi. "I have been, informed, by my friends that they will all be accompanying me. The only one who will not is Zaalbar, as he is on Kashykk. I intend to wait for Juhani to recover before I go. Why, Master?"

Vandar raised an eyebrow. "May I suggest Yuthura Ban?"

"Yuthura?" Revan gazed thoughtfully at him. "She needs rest, having just survived an assassination attempt. I'd prefer it if she stay here, where it's safe. Besides, she herself told me that she needed time to heal before coming with me, I don't think she's ready. Especially after her brutal mental rape at the hands of the Sith."

"On all those points, I would agree. However, she has one vital fact that you will need." Vandar sighed as Revan's eyes widened in understanding. "Yes, she was there when they felt the darkness. You will need her help to find it."

"I understand." Revan nodded, his eyes fixed on the ground for a second. "If she wishes to help me, then I'll let her come. But I'm not forcing her to!"

"No one said you had to." Vandar nodded slightly in approval. "Ask her, see if she will help. If not, we will keep her safe as best as we can while you try to stop the source."

"Yes, Masters. May I be excused, it seems I've got a lot to prepare for."

Vandar nodded and watched as Revan, Bastila and the two droids quickly exited the chambers.

"I am very worried about them." Vrook murmured in the quiet that followed. "So much emotion, from both of them. Now... I fear that their personalities are clashing. One of the very reasons why we... frown on relationships is because of the problems that come with them. Bastila and Revan have much... negotiation to do."

"They draw strength from each other," Vandar looked at Vrook quietly. "Would you try to disrupt that which the Force has created?"

"It would depend on which side."

"Maybe this was just the Force. No sides... just what is. Revan and Bastila love each other, Vrook. How would you stop them feeling that?" Vandar cocked his head slightly. "To separate them would stop them meeting physically, but the pain that it would cause would be on our heads."

"Perhaps, but the death of one could push the other to the darkness."

"Master?" Jestra quietly raised her hand. "The death of one, would lead to the death of the other sooner or later. The bond of two souls is so strong that to lose either of them is to lose the other."

"Well, then we should consider the other problem of sending Revan and his group to deal with this brotherhood." Vrook turned to Vandar. "You didn't tell him."

"No, I did not. I feel they have enough to worry about." Vandar sighed. "What good would it do to tell Revan he has someone else to guard against? What good would it do to tell him that House Terat has gone against the Senate and placed a private bounty on his head?"

"He deserves to know, Master!" Jestra muttered.

Vandar smiled weakly at her. "I know, but he is under so much stress. I will tell someone, someone I know who can keep an eye on him for us, keep him safe. In the meantime, I need you, Master Vrook, to request that the Council on Coruscant send some of their best Jedi to aid Admiral Dodonna. She has already informed me that she is trying to track down the Senator and have her remove the bounty. She'll need all the help she can get, especially as a portion of the galaxy agrees with the senator..."

"Well, there is little we can do but aid her. We promised to stay out of politics." Vrook sighed. "So much to be done, and so little time. Come, we must prepare."

Ebon Hawk, six hours later.

Revan leaned back and threw the holopad onto the table with a sigh. "Well, that's about it."

Carth toyed with his tarisian ale bottle and nodded, while Denara pursed her lips. She leaned back and shook her head. "It's a trap."

Carth nodded, appreciating the fact that Denara agreed with his own opinion. "Yup, plain and simple. You mean to tell me that any half decent assassin would use chemicals for a bomb that are so easy to trace? Tell me that with a straight face and I'll show you a Jedi doing comedy on Commonor."

"I know." Revan sighed, smiling faintly as Carth and Denara gaped at him. "Of course it's a trap, an obvious one too. Would you let Assassins carry such an easily decryptable message to their target? Sith, would you give them one at all? As you mentioned Carth, why set off a bomb, the chemicals of which paint a massive arrow in the right direction? No, of course it's a trap, one they want me to spring."

"Then why are we going?" Denara asked, only for Revan to rub a hand through his hair and look wearily at her.

"What they expect, is for me to go in alone, trying to protect my friends by sacrifice." He glanced guiltily at the corridor leading to the bunkroom that Bastila slept in. She'd shaken her head at him when they got on board and walked quietly away, but he knew their discussion wasn't over. He sighed inwardly. "With the Spirit in orbit, and you lot with me, I think we can make the trap spring backwards."

Carth nodded, slowly. "I can see that, yeah... do you think we'll find anything there?"

"Well, from the memory fragment... Whatever pointed Revan in the direction of this "Curse of the Rakatan" was inside whatever is hidden on Vjun. So, it's as good a place as any to start looking. Besides, if this is their main headquarters, we can stop them from attacking in one strike."

"The problem is numbers. Ordinary Sith troops are no problem." Denara raised a finger and both Carth and Revan turned to her. "My troops are well trained, they can keep them at bay. The problem is any dark Jedi. This is a trap, so how many will we have to face?"

"I'm not calling on your troops at first." Revan tapped a finger on the desk in thought. "My group is small enough to slip past any defence they have set up. I'll call you in once we've judged the threat."

"Stealth?" Carth looked at Revan with a sly smile. "Just like on our previous little jaunt, eh?"

"It worked before." Revan grinned faintly at Carth and suddenly yawned. "We've been working on this for six hours... lets get some rest. We can't leave for at least another day or two, Juhani and Yuthura need to be fit to travel first."

The two Republic soldiers leaned forwards in shock. Carth was the first to speak. "The Sith? She's coming with us?"

Revan gazed at him carefully, and felt the sudden ripples of distaste and anger flowing from him. "Yes. She's atoned for what she did. I'd hope you'd welcome her, as you did when you found out I was Revan."

Carth flushed, but he couldn't hold back the bitterness in his voice. "She tried to take my son away, turn him into a twisted version of himself."

"Really? Carth, have you ever thought that Yuthura had been twisted herself?" Revan placed a supporting hand on his shoulder. "She was as innocent as Dustil. Exposed to pain, suffering and horror at such a young age. So, they both ended up joining the Sith, desperate to take the pain away rather than face it. How can you blame her for that when you don't blame Dustil?"

"Why the hell not?" Carth snapped suddenly. "He's my Son! She tried to corrupt him! Why shouldn't I blame her for letting her anger corrupt him as well as her?"

"Because, you almost went that way with Saul." Revan whispered, watching as Carth winced in sudden memory. "As I, or as Lord Revan did, when he fought the Mandalorian's."

"You saved Dustil from her, from the damn Sith." Carth muttered reluctantly. "You saved him from himself."

"Then I saved Yuthura from the Sith and herself. Carth, she isn't evil. She needs compassion, love and understanding. Please, try to give her that."

"Do you trust her?" Denara asked him, making the two men jump slightly at her quiet tone. "Master Revan, would you let her guard your back in combat?"

Revan gazed at her, realised it was a simple question. She had helped him rescue Yuthura, not realising she had been a Sith at the time. Now, all she wanted was an affirmation of trust. "Yes, I would. She isn't a Sith anymore."

"Then I have no problem with her coming." Denara looked at him with curiosity. "Except, why is she coming?"

"She was with a Jedi Master, who stumbled across a possible entrance to this temple, as a Padawan. I need her help to find it."

"Ahh, Sithspit." Carth muttered, only to sigh. "Fine, fine, she'll be coming then. I'll make sure to arrange quarters for her too."

"Carth, thank you." Revan smiled at him and his friend shrugged irritably.

"Hell, you saved Dustil... and you're right, I don't blame him for giving in to his anger. I suppose you're right about Yuthura too."

"Have you talked to her? Actually sat down and talked to her?" Revan spoke quietly, evenly. "She was almost broken by them Carth. If you talk to her, I think you'd see how much pain she suffers."

"I don't want to talk to her, not yet." Carth shrugged. "It's still too tender for me to explore, sorry."

"It's not a demand or order Carth," Revan smiled faintly. "Just, when you're ready."

"Yeah, fine." Carth stood, and finished the dregs in his bottle. "Well, I've got a ship to get back too. Sorry Rev."

"No problem, I have... things to deal with too." Unable to help himself, his eyes strayed to the bunkroom and Carth glanced at Denara.

"Can I offer you a lift?"

"Thank you." Denara nodded and stood quickly, brushing her uniform down as she did so. "Revan, a pleasure as always. I look forward to being your backup."

"Thank you for coming." Revan shook her hand and Denara smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow. Admiral Onasi, shall we?"

"Carth, Denara... just Carth. Revan, see you tomorrow."

Revan watched as the two soldiers strode towards the exit ramp of the Hawk. With a sigh, he turned towards the corridor leading to the bunkroom and quietly walked towards it, and Bastila.

Jedi docking bay six.

Carth took in a deep breath of the night air and slowly let it out. Damn Yuthura Ban and the Sith. The memory of Dustil, so twisted and full of hate, remained raw. Ban had been part of that, even if Revan had managed to make her see sense. No, he couldn't forgive her for that, yet. Maybe never.

"So, Jedi Ban will be joining us on this adventure. I hope he knows what he's doing, trusting her." Denara glanced at Carth and, seeing his stiff expression, carried on. "What do you think we'll find on Vjun?"

"I dunno," Carth glanced at the woman next to him, a thought striking him at the sight of her fresh and alert face. "Look, I need a drink, to wash away some bad memories. Join me?"

"Sure." Denara smiled slightly. "You can tell me all about the missions that made Carth Onasi a war hero."

"Nothing much to tell, sister. What you see now is what you get." Carth looked over and smiled slightly. Denara had her eyebrows raised and an intrigued smile on her face. For a few seconds, he forgot about Dustil, forgot the pain. Just for tonight, he wanted to enjoy the company. "What about you? I've heard your name crop up a few times too."

"Nothing much to tell, brother. What you see is what you get." Denara turned her blue eyes on Carth and grinned. "How about two career soldiers tell how it really happened, over a few ice cold bottles of ale?"

Carth grinned back at her. "Sure, why not. Come on, the cantina at the Starport is open 27 hours."

"Lead the way fly-boy, lead the way." Denara grinned as Carth bowed slightly and then swaggered off. She coughed and, as he turned, wagged a finger. Oh, and the Admiral is paying, with his admiral's salary."

The Hawk.

The bunkroom was dim, the lights dipped low as Revan leaned against the door jam to the room and stared at his lover. Bastila lay on her bunk, eyes closed, hair spilling on the pillow and fast asleep. With a sigh, Revan slid off the jamb and walked quietly across to her.

Sitting very gently on the bunk, he stared at her soft beautiful face, softened by the dim lights and sleep, and he sighed.

"I never thought what running off, like a Bantha towards schaf grass, would do to you. I'm sorry."

"You never do, and it hurts." Her voice murmured, making him jerk back in surprise. Her soft blue eyes slid open, filled with pain. "What is even worse? That you keep telling me not to be so foolish, to not sacrifice myself."

"Bast... I didn't think. All I wanted was to protect you." Revan felt his fingers whiten and grip the sheet gently draped over her. "When I think about what that Sith wants you for... it frightens me, frightens me to the core. I'm a Jedi, and in love, something that the code forbids. To lose you would send me to the darkness, I'm sure."

"This is not about me, or Juhani, or any of the others. It is about you, and your own sense of guilt, of the need to readdress the balance." Bastila reached out, both physically and mentally. "Understand this, I am one of the few Jedi who understand you, understand what you feel. You cannot remember what Revan, Lord Revan, did. However, it still gnaws at you, comes to you in dreams, in flashes."

"Bast...."

"Shush, listen. The other problem still remains. You seem to automatically want to guard me against every knock, bruise, problem or danger. I'm sick of it. I can cope... I am a Jedi, I have had to look after myself and the universe for a while before we... fell in love."

"You've been able to look after yourself fine up to now?" Revan muttered quietly, and watched as her eyes narrowed. "Sithspit. I know how strong you are... I'd agree with everything you said. Except that I don't think you could cope... you were close to snapping when we fell in love."

"What?" Bastila felt her temper rise, and for once let it flow unchecked. "I was not! No, I snapped when I gave you everything! Look where it took me! I ended up in the hands of Malak... and he damaged me so badly, you had to rescue me from destruction! Now, everywhere I go, the fact I fell affects my life. Even my own mother, sends you, the one she knows protects my every step, my things!"

"The fact that you fell, that it still hurts you.... I know it does and I am so sorry for it, I can't say in words how I feel. Your mother sent that thing to me, because she didn't know how to find you. But this isn't really what it's all about is it?" Revan said calmly. "The fact remains that, even now, you hate having to give up the Tauntaun reins."

"What?" She snapped again. "What do you mean?"

"All those years... living alone, being alone. You had to rely on yourself. There was no one to talk to really, no one else to rely on, to ask for help. So, you had to rely on yourself." Revan watched her face flush red with anger and he felt his own spike. "Now, I'm here... and it annoys you that I can help. That I got inside what you kept others out of! So you grudgingly accept my help when you have to. I love you, but it can get annoying to be pushed away, to be snapped at or refused all the time!"

"I do not do that!" Bastila managed, struggling as his words hit home. "I... I simply hate that every time I turn around, you are either fixing my problems or trying to save me. I can manage! A relationship is about trust for Force's sake... So trust me to cope!"

"I do! But when I can help... why shouldn't I? I want to help the woman I love, I trust her to help me when she can!" Revan closed his eyes and breathed deeply. This wasn't helping. "Besides, what's wrong with wanting to keep you safe?"

"Nothing... except you seem Sithing determined to keep me out of everything! Any danger! Almost as if you want to wrap me in safety webbing... like a goblet of precious glass. I won't let that happen!"

"Well, I'm not going to let what happened to Juhani and Yuthura happen to you. So, if you hate me for trying to protect you, I don't care!" He snapped angrily... before closing his eyes and struggling for control. "I don't care... even if this ends our relationship... Because you'd be safe and you mean so much to me."

Bastila stared at him, felt a sudden weight lift ever so slightly from her heart. Her anger trickled away, like water off a slick surface. "It's the explosion. The very fact that Juhani is in hospital with Yuthura, isn't it. The threat of the Brotherhood frightened you, and that's why you've been so possessive. Now, with Juhani in hospital, it's reaffirmed your fears... for me."

Revan got up and turned to her suddenly. His eyes were wide and Bastila braced herself. "Yes! Is that what you want to hear? Juhani is in hospital, all because of me! The brotherhood are attacking us, all because of me!"

"Revan," Bastila reached out to him, tried to calm him down. "You're angry."

"I know!" He snapped, trying, struggling against his darker emotions. "They bombed the damn enclave to send me a message and kill Ban at the same time! Juhani is in the hospital because she went to rescue Yuthura!"

"I told you, that's not your fault." Bastila whispered quietly. "It's not!"

"That's not it! Not really! What if it had been you?" He asked her, his voice fading to a pained whisper. "What if they'd bombed your quarters, what if it had been you in hospital?"

"Revan, my love."

"What if it had been you caught in the blast, or inhaling that acidic smoke? Juhani almost died! The only reason she ISalive is because of her Cathar metabolism, and even that almost failed her because she couldn't breath! Do you know that while she was in hospital, lying there... pale, struggiling to eke each breath?I kept getting visions of you there? Lying there, blood tricking out of your mouth, gasping for breath!"

"Revan..." All Bastila could do was sit there, feeling his pain, his fear. She realised how long he had been holding this back and desperate to try and heal some of the pain, she reached out with her love into the bond. "It didn't happen. Juhani is alive and recovering, she is too strong to give up. Yuthura is also well, and has escaped because of you. You cannot be everywhere at once Revan! No Jedi can!"

"I wish I could... By the Force I want to be." Revan paced the room, and his mind repeated the Jedi code slowly... trying to bring his emotions under control again. "You say that I'm always protecting you. You may be right. I do want to protect you... because I care about you!" He looked at her and sighed. "But you have to admit that it's because you're not used to it. Not used to having someone to trust... someone who cares about you."

"I... possibly." Bastila managed... her own mind struggling. "I... you still smother me, or I feel you do... and what about Mother?"

"I told you about that." He sighed and shook his head. "We have to sort this out, between us."

Bastila nodded. Some of the pain, the anger... had faded. But she still felt resentment that Revan always pushed into her business, was always... there, all the time. Sighing, Bastila walked gently over to the door leading to the crew annex. "We are both too angry, too emotionally charged to sort out what remains, for now."

Revan glanced up... his eyes dark. But he nodded slowly, his body language softening as he stared at her. "Yeah. I suppose so... But, we both said some stuff that I think... could help?"

"Perhaps..." She whispered. "I need to think... on this. I... I'm still cross with you, for always being there, always... solving everything, stifling... But... I understand why now, and that... I... I need time."

Revan stared at her and nodded slowly. "I know... I can feel it. I... take your time."

Bastila watched as he slumped onto his bunk and gazed at her with those dark eyes. Slowly, she turned and moved to head towards the crew annex, she needed a drink.

"Bast?" Revan said gently, making her turn in the corridor and stare at him with dark blue eyes.

"Yes?"

"I... I love you. Despite all this... poodoo between us right now? I love you."

"I know." She whispered. "I love you as well."

With a small smile and a nod, Revan watched her go. He wondered how they had gone from happy to miserable... in such a short time. Unable to work it out, he slid into the bunk and gazed at the metal ceiling.

Bastila slipped out of the bunkroom door and quietly strode to the crew room. She heard quiet laughter and the sound of flicking Pazzak cards coming from Mission's room. She felt Jolee's presence and shook her head. How did the old man stomach Mission? Even though she respected the Twi'lek, her personality irritated her to the extreme. Right now, with all that had been said running though her mind, Mission was the last person she wanted to speak to.

With gentle shake of herself, Bastila kneeled down next to the cupboard and rummaged around. True to his word, a bottle of Dantooine brandy lay hidden at the back. As she pulled it out, she sighed quietly. "Ah, Mission... for a professional sneak, you didn't find this one, did you?"

"Course, but I left it there, cause Rev likes it an I don't." Mission watched as Bastila's body stiffened slightly. "Hey Bast, how ya been?"

Bastila stood slowly and stared at Mission's faintly amused face. _"Damn, not now."_

"I am well, you?"

"Can't complain now that Juhani is gonna be okay. Rev too, he missed you loads."

"Did he?" Bastila turned and reached up for a glass. As she did so, Mission walked up behind her.

"Yeah, he did. I'm glad you're, like, here. Look, I... Jolee says that relationships are a lot of give and take... it takes time. I don't really understand that myself, so that's all I'm gonna say too." The young girl hit buttons on the synthesiser and watched as two mugs of caffa splashed out of it. "Have a good night, Bast."

Bastila stared at the young Twi'lek and as Mission turned, balancing two caffa mugs, she called after her. "Mission, I like the lip stain, it suits you."

Mission paused and tossing a grin over her shoulder began to walk forwards again. "Thanks, it's yours."

Bastila sighed, surprised to feel mild amusement pierce the pain, the annoyance and the confusion for just a few seconds. Shaking her head she gripped the bottle and slipped down the Hawk's landing ramp. She needed time and quiet to... to think.

Jedi Medical wing.

Juhani's yellow eyes slid open in the dark, glowing as they reflected the starlight that shone in from the windows of the ward. The Cathar looked left and then right, trying to work out where she was.

Juhani choked slightly and swallowed, wincing in pain at the rawness in her throat. Her lungs itched, and she groaned at the need to scratch them, to make it stop.

"_What happened to me?"_ She thought quietly, her glowing eyes flicking around the medical ward once more. "_I remember holding onto Yuthura in that burning building... I... I remember Revan helping get her out... Then... then mission holding onto me, and.... oh, by the Force, my lungs burning_!"

She leaned forward, her fingers straying towards her chest and probed the fur and skin. No holes, no burns... She breathed in slowly, and let out a tiny cough. She could breath, thank the Force. Her probing fingers slid across six puncture marks on both sides of her body, and she realised they were the injectors of a full life support pack.

"_How close did I get come to becoming one with the Force?"_ She winced at the tender flesh around each mark. "I_ owe Mission my life, she was the one who dragged me to the medical wing. Another person I owe a debt of gratitude to, how they stack up in life_."

A sudden murmur made Juhani lean forwards to increase her night vision. Her eyes widened in surprise and tenderness. There, sitting next to her bedside, head slumped in Juhani's lap, lay a familiar purple face. Yuthura Ban slumbered, exhaustion from her physical and medical exertions had claimed her, even as she had sat holding Juhani's hand.

Juhani stared at the passive, sleeping face and smiled. "_She claims to struggle to understand the Jedi ways, yet she stayed with me. To the Sith, it would be a sign of weakness. She knows truthbetter than she will admit, even to herself_."

Slowly, Juhani stretched out a hand and with a moment's hesitation, where she almost drew her hand back, Juhani gently touched the lekku that lay curled around Yuthura's neck. She marvelled at its warmth, the smoothness of the skin, the roughness where the tattoo ink had been inscribed. The tattoo's... intricately detailed, they ran the whole length of each lekku. Symbols, scrollwork, strange patterns all blended into an intoxicating design of beauty. Juhani wondered what they meant, to Yuthura and other Twi'lek's.

As she touched the scrollwork, Yuthura's lekku twitched at the tender touch. Juhani knew that Twi'lek lekku were very sensitive, packed with more nerve connections that any of their other appendages. Now, they pulsed and rippled as she stroked them, fascinated.

Yuthura's lips gently parted, and her warm breath rippled into the cool air of the medical ward. Juhani stared at her, feeling the warmth inside her grow into need. She shivered and gently pulled her hand back, watching as Yuthura's lekku slipped into stillness.

"_I cannot... I am a Jedi, she is trying to come back from the Sith. I... I cannot let my own lack of control affect her_!" Juhani sighed into the quiet of the ward. "_If... if only I was as brave as Revan, I would... I."_

Who was she trying to fool? She had a growing attraction to Yuthura, and denying it was foolish. _"Maybe, I can... distance myself from Yuthura. I... I can stay out of her way... She is better off without my foolish attraction."_

Her fingers trailed down the back of the sleeping Twi'lek's neck of their own violition and began to finger the hospital gown around her neck. As she did so, Juhani noticed another Tattoo. This one was designed to represent a... a band? It wrapped around Yuthura's neck and the scrollwork, while intricate, held many glyphs of Huttese. As she stared at the band, trying to work out what it was... her fingers slid across the front of Yuthura's neck and paused. The skin was rougher there, callous. Pulling the gown down slightly... Juhani gasped at the sight of a neat scar. Deep and precise, it slashed across the band, breaking it and erasing what seemed to be a complicated set of Huttese glyphs. Juhani frowned. _"What was this meant to be?"_

"N...no.... Don't!" Juhani jerked in shock at the sudden, frightened whimper and glanced down in concern as Yuthura's warm baritone washed over her, frightened and in pain. "Omeesh, no!"

The Twi'lek, passive a few seconds ago, now writhed in her lap, caught in a nightmare. Juhani instinctively reached out to touch her, caressing the lekku as she had done before. "Yuthura, it is alright. You are safe with me."

"N... no.... damn you!" She tossed in her gentle hold, unable to wake. "Kara, wake up... Don't leave me alone!"

"Yuthura... wake up." Juhani touched her gently, watched as he lekku trembled. "Wake up... it is a bad dream, nothing more."

"I... I... What?" Yuthura woke suddenly, her head shooting bolt upright to stare in disorientation at Juhani's fur covered face. "Who?"

"Shh, you are safe."

Yuthura stared at her for a moment, and Juhani watched as recall crept into them. "I... I apologise for that."

"There is no need." Juhani smiled. "Thank you... for staying with me until I woke."

"I... I felt I had to, you helped me in the burning building... I felt it was only right to be here with you."

"I understand." Juhani stared at her and Yuthura returned the gaze, until the Cathar looked away. The look in Yuthura's eyes had been intense, and she could feel her own desire stir. She sought for a topic. "Was it bad? The dream?"

"I... it was nothing." Yuthura watched as Juhani's eyes drew back to hers... felt the stirring of her own need, long buried. "It.... I was back with Kara, my, my lover in Omeesh's chamber... when she was killed."

"I... I am sorry." Juhani licked her lips, realising that this was a bad topic after all. "I did not mean tocause you fresh pain."

"You didn't... I know who caused it. That I... feel it again, it feels good." Yuthura flushed and her lekku slid around her neck defensively. "I was so... empty, so very empty. To feel anything, anything other than anger and rage... it feels good."

"Even pain?" Juhani asked her quietly and Yuthura shrugged.

"I... the memories of what happened are painful... but I... for the first time in years I remembered Kara... that felt good." She glanced at Juhani, wanted to tell her that one of the last images had been her face, smiling at her, but she couldn't. "I... I hope you have recovered."

"So it would seem, but I am exhausted." Juhani stared at Yuthura and then, unable to help herself, yawned. Herferal incisors glinted in the moonlight as she did so and Yuthurafound her gaze fixed to thesmooth white teeth, and then the full lips thathid them from view once more. Juhani cocked her head at her gaze and smiled."As you can see."

"I... I'll leave you alone then. I am sure I can find someone to allocate me some new quarters." Yuthura, skin flushing aslightly deeper purple,slid to her feet. She moved to leave, only to have Juhani place a hand gently on her arm.

"You... you could stay, I have never liked medical centres, they... disturb me." She felt Yuthura pause, and a look of longing slid into her eyes. "Please?"

"I... very well." Yuthura watched as the Cathar let out a sigh of relief as she slid back into her seat. "I shall stay with you."

Juhani smiled and glanced over at the bed next to hers. "I would suggest using the bed? It would be more comfortable."

Yuthura stared at her for a second, her lekku curling in embarrassment, and then she nodded. "I... of course."

As she moved smoothly to the bed, Juhani found herself unable to resist watching her, the curves, the way her Lekku moved gently as she did. "_What am I doing? You promised yourself to stay back_!"

Yuthura slid between the sheets and turned to see Juhani's shining yellow eyes staring intently at her. "_Is she... interested in me?_" Yuthura thought and then sighed. "_No, don't be foolish. Who would find a shattered Sith interesting?_"

"I... goodnight Jedi Ban." Juhani whispered, groaning as she settled back into the sheets. "I take it that the following days will be busy for all of us, including you."

"Yes, I... I do not know what is in store for me." Yuthura sighed and pushed her longing away, a great effort that left her Lekku trembling with residual need. "Maybe Revan will be able to suggest a Master who is not against taking... foolish, yet redeemed, Sith."

"Shush, you are not foolish." Juhani gazed up at the stars and unable to hold back, whispered. "You have a friend in me, if you ever need one."

"I... I thank you." Yuthura whispered, as her own pale purple eyes stared at the starlight. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

"You would be surprised." Juhani told her, feeling her eyes close slowly. "I... I need to sleep."

"Yes, sleep Juhani, I will guard you."

Yuthura stared at the night sky, until the gentle breathing next to her slipped into a soft purr. She smiled for a few seconds, imagining what it would be like to sleep next to that, with the purr in your ear, before focusing on her future. She still pondered as the light rose the next day.

Continued in Revenant 6: Revenant rising.


End file.
